Lucky Lil
by Zippy-Wings
Summary: Lily's life isn't always perfect. It isn't a fairy tale. She was lucky to get into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but will she ever be lucky after that? Chapter 16 up! Please R&R!
1. Surprising First and Second Days

Lily's First Years At Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except Professor Chandra Amethyst and Jaina Trellinger

Chapter 1

It was the first day of the rest of Lily's life, as far as she was concerned. Today was her first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In her opinion, people would be crazy not to want to come here. She had two friends right from the off: Jaina and Alice. Lily knew that they would spend long nights up in the dormitory giggling.

Then, she met James. James was cocky and full of himself and it radiated off him so badly that she knew before that fateful moment in which he said "Hi" in the hallway before her first lesson.

"Who are you," Lily replied scathingly to James.

"James Potter. And who might you be?"

"Lily Evans, and please don't embarrass me again by talking to me, you puffed up popinjay!"

Jaina giggled. "Ooh, Lily, he likes you!"

"Whatever. Hurry up or we'll be late for class. Although, it would almost be worth being late if we could make that de-creamed cream puff late too."

"Ooh Lily, you like him!"

"Saying that I like him is like saying that molasses flows well in the middle of January."

"Whatever. I know the truth."

"Be quiet, Jaina," Lily hissed, as they were now in class.

"Now that we are all here bodily AND mentally, Ms. Evans and Ms. Trellinger, welcome to Transfiguration. I am your teacher, Professor McGonagall," said the teacher at the front of the class. "Today, you will be turning a match into a needle. In order to do this, you must clearly say the incantation while twirling your wand counterclockwise and then making a tapping motion just above the match. If done correctly by the end of the lesson, you will have started to become a good transfigurist. The incantation is 'marisola'. Carry on."

By the end of the lesson, Jaina had made noticeable changes in her match, earning five points for Gryffindor. It was starting to look silvery, and the ends were beginning to taper.

"How did you manage that?" asked Lily in awe.

"I don't really know," Jaina admitted. "Neither of my parents were good transfigurists, so I bet it's just beginner's luck. Did you see that I was the only girl to make that much improvement? I thought loads of people would be able to do that stuff."

"Yeah, Trellinger, how did you manage that?" said a boy that neither of them knew.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Jaina asked the boy scornfully.

"I'm Sirius Black. In addition, how could I know your name, with you embarrassing yourself like that in front of the whole class? Really, you're almost as dim as my little brother."

"Little brother? Boy, do I feel sorry for him. Well, not anymore, at least until the summertime. Poor thing! Who would want you as a role model? You are SO rude. Come on Lily…Let's go."

"Hey, you two," called Alice. "Wait for me!"

Charms was after lunch, and Lily know right away that she would like charms the best. The tiny Professor Flitwick called role and then explained that charms was a down to earth subject that called for maximum concentration and willingness to apply oneself to the subject. In this class, he explained, they could learn how to do many useful things, which included levitation. Lily knew, from that point on, that she would apply herself to charms and be able to do anything that Flitwick himself could do.

The next day, first up was Potions, taught by the infamous teacher Professor Chandra Amethyst. While Lily, Alice, and Jaina were talking about what Potions was likely to be like, an older student butted into the conversation unexpectedly to give her opinion an Amethyst.

"What do you think it will be like," Lily asked Alice worriedly. "What is potions, anyway?"

"I dunno," said Alice. "I know we won't start stuff like antidotes until much later on. That's what like, people in fifth year are doing!"

"First class with Amethyst today?" asked the tall girl curiously. "Amethyst is a real master at potions, don't get me wrong. However, she is the toughest teacher when it comes to grading and how you conduct your potions. She put a kid in detention last year because his potions to cure boils went all wrong. Poor kid. I think he still can't make the potion right. By the way…she doesn't like muggle borns, children of squibs, or part wizards, so be careful!"

After breakfast, Lily, Jaina, and Alice walked cautiously toward the dungeons. The tall girls warning had made it seem like they were walking towards Death Roe.

"Do you really think it will be that bad?" Jaina asked nervously. "That girl made it seem like Amethyst was going to kill us."

"I bet she was exaggerating," Alice said with more confidence than she felt.

: I think that we'll be fine if we just try our best, After all, this is only our first class…" Lily said uncomfortably.

The class was gathering outside the dungeon door when they arrived. The class was talking about classes they had had so far.

"Flitwick's is the easiest," said a Slytherin girl with a snort.

"McGonagall is the toughest teacher here. She told us that if we didn't pass her class successfully that she would be very disappointed with the class and that she would give us all detention if we didn't improve," said a fat Gryffindor boy fearfully.

"Don't be thick, Peter," a cute boy who Lily had seen hanging around James but didn't know the name of said. "McGonagall said that we'd, or rather you'd, be given extra homework if you didn't improve."

"Who's that?" Lily asked Alice quietly.

"What, you think that fat kid is cute?" Alice sniggered.

"No, not the fat boy, the one talking to him."

"Lily likes some cocky boy who hangs around with a puffed up popinjay!" Jaina sang quietly.

"Shut up," Lily snapped good-naturedly.

"It's true," Alice told her earnestly.

"Oy! Evans! Trellinger!" called Sirius over the group. "Rumor has it that one of you likes Remus over here!"

"How do they know what we're talking about?" Lily asked, disconcerted.

"So, Evans," Sirius asked, suddenly right beside Lily. "D'you want to go out with Remus?"

"If he wants to go out with me, why doesn't ask me?" Lily replied, carefully not looking at Sirius.

"That means you'll go out, right?" Sirius prodded.

"I see your manners haven't changed, Black," Jaina spat. "She never said she would."

"But her eyes said so. Come on, Evans! Look me in the eye and tell me no!"

Lily looked up. "You are low. I would go out with a rat before I went out with you!"

"But what about Remus?" Sirius asked again. "Or that other hottie over there, James."

"FINE! I'll go out with Remus on one condition."

"Name it." Sirius responded quickly.

"Never ask me to go out with puffed up Potter. Don't even suggest it again. EVER!"

"You got it, Evans" Sirius practically sang.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!" a new, harsh voice roared. "IN! Or it will be detention!"

(A/N): Well…was that Ok? I have some more chapters done, but I need to type them up. Please review!


	2. Trials and Tribulations

A/N: Thank you to my first three Reviewers! Kiley, if you reviewed, I didn't get you review…anyway here's the next installment…hope you guys enjoy! By the way, I might be switching the point of view occasionally, but only for short periods to show what's going on elsewhere.

**Reviews (My answers):**

**Glowing-ice: Yes, original, Jaina has nothing to do with another character.**

**Ghilliekitten: I can't find the typos…none show up on the CPU**

**SoDecieving: Well, the plot plows on!**

Disclaimer: I only own Jaina Trellinger, Rose Preston, Professor Chandra Amethyst, and Professor Jacen Svoboda. Everybody else is the ingenious work of JKR.

Chapter 2

"Now that we are all here and _paying attention_, you will notice that there is a list of ingredients and directions on the board. If you follow these directions, you will be able to make a very simple yet useful potion that will cure boils. As this is your first potion, I will allow you to work in pairs. Potions can be brewed with either the utmost care or disdainful sloppiness. One who is sloppy with his or her work will not be in my good books. Be warned: potions are an important part of today's wizarding world. One must succeed in order to become a Healer, Auror, or almost any other occupation that seems interesting to you. Carry on."

"Not one to joke, is she?" Jaina asked quietly.

"Got that right," Alice said in a whisper. "You two work together. I want to work alone."

"You sure?" Lily asked in a barely audible voice.

"Positive," Alice said firmly.

"Talking again, Evans?" came a cold, foreboding voice from behind the girls. "But left Mr. Black behind? A further five points from Gryffindor. Now, do be silent from here on out in my class."

After class, in which Alice had been the only one to actually make the potion entirely correctly, the girls raved about how unfair Professor Amethyst had been to them.

"Some of the Slytherins were talking, but she only got after us…" Lily said bitterly.

"Yeah, Evans, didn't you know that Amethyst favors girls from Slytherin?" said the Slytherin girl who had been snide about Flitwick's class before. "By the way, my name is Rose Preston. And don't forget it," she snapped, and promptly turned and walked in the other direction.

"We really should try to be nice to people around here," Alice chided.

"But I didn't say anything!" Lily said in an offended voice.

"But you wanted to tell her off. I could tell."

"Hey, Evans…er, Lily…what d'you want me to call you?" Remus said.

"Where did you come form?" Lily asked in surprise.

"I followed you. You really should wait for me, or I should wait for you, now that we're dating."

"We can't even leave the grounds!" Lily exclaimed. "No, I'm sorry, we're just 'going out', nothing more. Call me Lily."

Their next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. The teacher, Professor Jacen Svoboda, was rumored to have traveled the world fighting dark creatures and wizards.

"Good afternoon, class," said the Professor. "Today, we will be learning about what Defense Against the Dark Arts is all about. You will learn the basic principals of this subject, how to use it properly, and _when_ to use it. All you will need to do today is to keep you pie-holes shut and copy down what I put on this board. For those of you with minds not as sharp and witty as others, don't talk and copy."

The notes were desperately dull. Lily, who was sitting at the back of the class between Jaina and, to her slight dismay, Remus, found her attention wavering. She could tell that Remus' attention was wavering also. Sure enough, there was soon a note on Lily's desk.

_Lily:_

_Do you think that this is as boring as I do? I can't believe that Professor Svoboda is wasting our time with this rubbish! Can you concentrate? I sure can't. Here's the truth: I'm barely able to copy down the notes! You have my attention. Uh-oh, Svoboda is looking this way!_

_Love you, but gtg!_

_Remus_

Lily read this note quickly and copied down the missed notes. She wondered whether or not she should reply and risk getting caught by the professor. Then, almost instinctively, Lily slipped out an extra sheet of parchment and wrote:

_Remus:_

_No, I can't concentrate, especially with you writing love notes to me! We'll talk later. Please understand. _

_Thank You, gtg!_

_Love,_

Lily 

She slipped the note on to Remus' desk at just the wrong time. Svoboda looked up and saw her hand retreating quickly from the desk to her right.

"Evans! Lupin! See me after class," he said in an annoyingly all-knowing voice.

Finally, the class ended and both Lily and Remus hung back to get their reprimands from the Professor. Lily made a mental note never to talk unless instructed, and never to pass notes unless they were invisible.

"Did the two of you not understand my lecture at the beginning of the class? I specifically said that there was no need to talk."

"But Professor," said earnestly, "we weren't really talking, we were passing notes."

"It amounts to the same thing," Svoboda spat indifferently. "By the way, Lupin, that's a detention. Don't provoke me further. Friday night. My office. Don't be late."

Lily and Remus left the classroom in a daze.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Lily. "Herbology in ten minutes! We'll never make it!"

"Don't worry, Lily, I'm sure Professor Sprout is nice enough…" consoled Remus in a soothing voice, "but let's hurry just the same."

Lily and Remus were outside the greenhouses just before the bell rang.

"Where were you?" asked Jaina quietly.

"You know," hissed Lily, "we were talking to Svoboda!"

"Well, did he let you off easy?"

"I did, but Remus got a detention," Lily simpered.

"Hey, Lily, don't sweat it! It was bound to happen sooner or later," Remus soothed. "No big deal."

"No big deal! You were just trying to tell me something…"

"And if it makes you happy, I still will pass notes to – OY! JAMES! SIRIUS! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

When Professor Sprout let them into the greenhouses, she told them about the sort of plants they would be taking care of. The plant that interested Lily most there the Venomous Tentaculas. These were large plants that struck you, and each time the struck, you felt more feint.

"Venomous Tentaculas are dangerous and difficult to take care of. You will not be taking care of plants like these for a longs time," Professor Sprout said to Lily when she asked when they would be able to take care of them.

After class, Lily, Remus, Alice, Jaina, and, to Lily's dismay, James, Sirius, and Peter. They were all done with classes for the day, so they headed for the grass like the lake.

"Nice job, Evans," James commented.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked politely.

"Surely your love struck mind could have figured that out, Evans!"

"Just tell me and shut up."

"Remus got himself into detention on his second day here because you passed him a note. Nice work!"

Lily stood up and ran across the grounds towards the castle, tears running down her cheeks. "That idiot has no sense whatsoever about how girls feel. It'd serve him right if he never gets a girlfriend," Lily thought, now running down the corridor to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Now look what you've done!" Remus snapped at James. "I told her I didn't mind getting the detention!"

"Oops," James said, somewhat embarrassed. "Hey, isn't it almost time for dinner "

"Yeah, but you guys go ahead. Also, Sirius, no browbeating Jaina! It's so typical of you two…making me look like a liar!"

"Look, mate, I didn't mean to do that!" James said, alarmed,

"Whatever. You guys go and eat your precious dinner, I'm not feeling too well."

Remus sprinted towards the castle after Lily. He thought he knew where she had gone, so he walked as quickly as he could without getting himself into more trouble. He found her right where he thought she would be: in one of the dilapidated armchairs in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Hey, Lil, I know what James said really hurt your feelings, but don't take it personally, please! James doesn't really think before he talks."

"How would you know? Do you know what it's like being told it's ok and then just being told by your boyfriend's best friend that you got him into trouble for no reason and that you should have gotten into trouble instead? Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"To be honest, no, but I…"

"Then what do you care?"

"What do I care? If you're unhappy, I'm unhappy, it's a feeling that I can't really explain."

"Of course you can't explain it! Hardly anyone can! Why should you be any different? I can't really explain how I feel. The people who can are so sorted out that when they do have a tiny problem, they burst into tears in front of everyone. Somehow, I don't want to be one of those people, do you?"

"No. Lily, even if I don't know how you feel, I still care. You have to understand that. No amount of tears will change that, please try to understand. Why don't we go down for the last bit of dinner?"

"Ok, Remus…I guess I could read a little something…"

_A/N: Well, how was the chapter? I've written the next chapter, but I need to put it on the CPU…I hope the rest of the story goes well…after a while I'll need some ideas…in the meantime, R&R, of course! Thanks!_


	3. Realization

**Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters. The name 'Jaina' even comes from a Star Wars Book. Her last name comes off a Tee Shirt that I have. See how original I am?**

**Chapter 3: Realization**

The next morning, Lily awoke knowing what she had to do. She had thought about it all night long and had come to a decision. She immediately went to go find Remus.

"Remus?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Lil!"

"Remus, I don't really know how to say what I need to say, but…"

"Don't worry about it, really…" Remus said, trying to give Lily a hug.

"No, Remus…I came to realize last night that I need to focus on my studies…that's why my parents let me come here, even though they're muggles."

"Lils, what do you mean?"

"I mean, Remus, that I think that we should be friends…just friends…and be there to help each other through the hard times that are bound to be coming. I mean, come on, we're only eleven years old!"

"Lily, you're right. We came here to study and work, and that's what we should do. But are you sure you want to be friends?"

"I'd consider you more of a brother than a friend, and I hope you consider me as a sister more than a friend. So…deal?"

"Deal. Oh…Lil?"

"Mmm?"

"Now that we're 'siblings', I have something that I should probably tell _you_, but I'm kind of afraid to tell anybody about it…I don't want to lose my friends."

"Remus, I've told you that we could help each other through hardships, so what is it?"

"Lil," Remus said in a hushed tone, "Lil, I'm a werewolf."

Lily gasped. "What?"

"I knew this was a bad idea…"

"Remus…I'm so sorry…I can't believe you didn't tell me before…did you think that I'd run away from you in fear?"

"Well, believe me, it's happened. I'm a monster to most people…not that many people know…but werewolves are feared and they can't find jobs. They're monsters."

"Remus, listen to me. Werewolves are not monsters except for like five hours per month. In my book, I'd rather be a werewolf than any other type of quote on quote monster…at least I'd be able to be myself most of the time."

"But, Lils, that's just it…once a month I become something that I don't know…if I came across you while in my other form, I'd probably kill you and not know the difference. I don't remember most of the times that I have that once a month. I remember pain…"

"Remus, don't worry. I won't tell anyone. But you really should tell James and Sirius, you know."

"Why? They'd leave me and then I'd lose them, and life at Hogwarts may not be worth living after that…"

"Don't be thick, they'll want to help you…but we'd better go down to breakfast. It's time to go and eat that meal that someone invented to deprive teenagers of sleep." (A/N: well, it's true!)

Lily and Remus went down and started piling food on their plates. They were just about to start eating when James, Sirius, Peter, Jaina, and Alice came and sat down.

"So," Sirius said nonchalantly, "how are Gryffindor's first couple of first year doing?"

"Sod off, Sirius," said Remus slightly harsher than he meant to.

"So-rry! Looks like _someone_ just broke up."

"You didn't even _ask_ me if I wanted to go out with Lily…you're just lucky that I didn't mind. Anyway, Lily and I are sort of like siblings now…not dating, never will date each other again, and, well, just there for each other."

"How touching," James said, with a little look at Lily and a smirk.

Just then, a Hufflepuff boy walked by and said to Lily, "You're name is Evans, right?" Lily nodded. "Nice hair," the boy said, with a smirk just like James'.

"Why thank-JAMES-POTTER-I-SWEAR-THAT-I-AM-GOING-TO-KILL-YOU!" Lily screamed, having just noticed that her hair was bright neon green. Lily pulled out her wand. "You tell me how to remove this charm or you might just go bald."

"Come on, Evans…be fair…I was just trying something out!"

"Remove it."

"But, Evans!"

"I said REMOVE IT!"

"EVANS! Listen to me! I CAN'T remove it. I don't know how. You have to go to Professor Flitwick so that he can remove it. I'm sure that he'll be able to…"

"FINE! But when I get back, you are SO going to pay…make that, whenever you are off guard, you will pay. And believe me…you'll really think twice about turning someone ELSES hair green!"

Lily stalked off towards the Charms classrooms, and the rest of them headed off towards Transfiguration. Lily stopped in front of Professor Flitwick's classroom and knocked.

"Come in!" he squeaked. Lily opened the door. "Why hello, Ms. Evans, and what brings you here to-goodness gracious! What have you done to your hair?"

"I didn't professor…Ja-someone else did it. And I couldn't remove it. Can you? Please?"

"Of course, Ms. Evans, of course." The tiny professor waved his wand, and her hair turned its natural auburn color again.

"Thank you so much, Professor!"

"Anytime, anytime. Now, you'd better get to class."

"Yes, sir."

**_Lily's Diary_**

I can't STAND Potter. Today, he tuned my hair green for absolutely no reason at all. What a puffed up popinjay. Anyway, Remus and I are just friends now…actually more like siblings. Also, Remus told me some rather disturbing news: Remus is a werewolf. Not that I am afraid of him, but now I guess I can help him make up excuses for when he has to leave the castle once a month. I'm lucky to have someone who is so much like a brother here at Hogwarts, now I have someone besides Alice and Jaina and this diary to confide in. It's a comforting thought. Sigh. Anyway, about Potter. When he turned my hair green, he "didn't know" how to turn it back. More likely he wanted me to have to walk through the great hall with green hair. He would. Thankfully, Professor Flitwick turned my hair back to it's usual wavy auburn self. Anyway I had better go before Jaina comes up here and tries to read what I'm writing, not that I would care very much, but still. 

_Later,_

Lily 

Halloween

At the Halloween feast, there was much fun to be had and the like, with ghosts for entertainment and live bats swooping about overhead. Not to mention all of the wonderful foods that kept appearing on the tables whenever a dish became empty…and usually another thing besides what was gone appeared. It was a feast to remember. Or, it was until Alice looked at Lily in horror three quarters of the way through the feast.

"Oh, my, GOSH, Lily!" Alice practically shrieked.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

"Lil, you're turning…"

"Spit it out, Alice!"

"Lily, you're PURPLE!"

"POTTER! BLACK! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"What, Lil, it was just a bit of fun," James smirked.

"JUST A BIT OF FUN? JUST A BIT OF FUN? WELL, WHAT IF I TURNED YOUR HAIR GREEN, POTTER, AND YOU PURPLE, BLACK?"

"We'd laugh with everyone else, _Evans_," Sirius said in a serious voice.

"_Sure_ you would, _Black_," Jaina spat. "Come on, Lily, let's go and find someone to get rid of this shit. It's a wonder that they haven't landed themselves in detention yet."

Suddenly, a soothing voice came from behind. "Ms. Trellinger, would you mind letting me talk to Ms. Evans for a few minutes?"

Jaina spun around. "Oh, um, not at all, Headmaster. I'll just meet Lily in the Common Room. See ya, Lil!"

"Professor Dumbledore, I…"

"No need to say more, Ms. Evans. Please follow me to my office."

**Thanks for all of the reviews! Did you like this chapter? Sorry it took so long, but I re-wrote this chapter. The plot that I had before wasn't working. So, anyway, review! You know the drill!**

In answer to the reviews:

**crazi4life**: Thanks! I hope you like this installment, too!

**Carlie**: Well, if you like mine, read Hidden Feelings by Glowing-Ice!

**ghilliekitten**: We'll see. And by the way, you know what I meant!

**glowing-ice**: Well, I hope you're in a better mood this time!

**Betsy**: Thanks! I really love to write, and this story is no where NEAR done! I intend on following your advice!


	4. Supposed Pain, Real Suffering

Chapter 4: Supposed Pain, Real Suffering

Disclaimer: Again, JKR owns all characters from the Harry Potter series. I can no longer say that she owns all recognizable characters, because I would hope that if you are reading this that you recognize some characters that I made up.

"Ms. Evans, please follow me," Albus Dumbledore said quietly. Lily stood up and followed the Headmaster out of the Great Hall. The Professor waved his wand. "There we are, Ms. Evans. You are now your normal color. And I would advise you not to go back to dinner."

Lily simply nodded and walked glumly back to the Gryffindor common room. When she got there, she sat down in an old, squishy armchair and pulled out her books. Unfortunately, Lily was so angry that she could not concentrate. She threw her books back in her bag and stalked upstairs. Once in her dorm, Lily threw herself onto her four-poster bed and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

_Lily was back in her room at home, except for some very deliberate mistakes…her walls…they were supposed to be printed in stargazer Lilies on a Lavender background…but these walls seemed to be white. On closer inspection, Lily found that they were clear. Lily ran to where the door had been to find solid glass instead of a door. Lily was trapped. 'Oh crap,' Lily thought. Suddenly she heard a scream. Lily saw a swirl of flaming red hair whirl into the room. "Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Katrina Evans screamed. "Get away from my family!" Petunia was thrown into the room and cowered by her mother. Her father, Patrick Evans, was thrown in after Petunia and fell to the floor with a nasty cracking sound. Katrina rushed to her husbands side and helped him to a chair. Lily tried to turn her back, but instead of there being a different scene on the opposite wall, there was her family yet again. A tall man then entered the room. He was wearing a long, black cloak, had red, catlike eyes, and brown hair. Lily did not recognize him immediately, however she soon came to realize that Lord Voldemort was in her living room with her family. He raised his wand, pointed it at Petunia, and hissed "Imperio." Petunia immediately started advancing on Lily's mother. Her father tackled Voldemort, but only to howl in pain from his ankle. It appeared, however, that tackling the inflictor of the Imperious Curse was effective, as Petunia stopped what she was doing immediately. Voldemort then turned his wand on Lily's father and snapped "Crucio." Patrick immediately collapsed in pain. Katrina attempted to tackle Voldemort herself, but got in the way of the spell and Voldemort lifted the spell from Patrick and directed it at Katrina. Petunia sobbed in a corner, and Patrick tried in vain to get up from the floor. Finally, Voldemort lifted the spell from Katrina Evans' shaking form. Lily screamed, as Voldemort seemed to advance on her mother and father yet again. She beat on the glass to no avail. No one even looked up. Suddenly, there was a flash of green light, and her father crumpled. Mrs. Evans screamed and began crying. Another flash of green light later left Katrina dead as well. Voldemort then turned to Petunia…_

Lily felt herself being shaken awake by Jaina. "Lils?" Jaina asked tentatively. "Lils, what happened?"

"Mum and dad died…and I think Petunia did too…and I had to watch it. I need to see Professor Dumbledore. Now."

"Ok, Lils, ok…"

"NOW!"

"We're going, Lils…"

They reached Dumbledore's office in the space of about three minutes. To their luck, the Professor was just coming down the stairs as they tried different passwords.

"Ah, Ms. Evans…what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"I need to go home for a minute, Professor…I think mum and dad died…Voldemort killed them…"

"Come with me, quickly." They headed back up the stairs toward Dumbledore's office. He rummaged in an old trunk and picked up a book. "I never thought I'd find a use for Great Expectations, but it appears that I have," he said. "Now, Ms. Trellinger, stay here. Ms. Evans, just put one finger on this book."

It happened almost immediately. Lily felt a jerk somewhere behind her navel, and wind howled around her. Suddenly, she was at her house. Or, at least what used to be her house. There were a few frames still standing, but it was otherwise burned to the ground.

Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, turned both of their clothes into muggle wear, and approached a firefighter. "Excuse me, but what exactly happened here?"

"Don't exactly know. Probably electrical failure. Get it all the time with these new houses."

"Where is the family?"

"Dunno. They got out of the flames, but are probably at the nearest hospital at the moment."

"May I have the address? I'm an old family friend and I don't know the neighborhood too well."

The firefighter handed Dumbledore a slip of paper. On it was the address and telephone number.

"Lily!" Dumbledore called. "Lily, it's time to go. Lily!"

Lily was kneeling in the cooling ashes of what used to be her bedroom. She ran her fingers through the ashes and came up with some slightly charred things: her old diary and scrapbook. She hugged them to her chest and turned to Professor Dumbledore with tears in her eyes. "Can I stay a little longer?" Not waiting for a response, she waded through the ashes to her parent's room. There, she found their old journals and scrapbooks as well, along with a stack of things that seemed untouched by the flames. Lily gathered them all up without bothering to look at them and scooped up the rest of her things. She felt a paper being pressed up against her elbow and a jerk behind her navel. She landed in front of a hospital.

"Lily, go on inside. I will stay here with your things. Ask for the Evans family…don't tell them who you are."

Lily made her way into the hospital timidly. A kind nurse asked, "May I help you?"

"Yes," Lily whispered. "I'm looking for M-Mr. and Mrs. Evans and their daughter."

"Of course. Right this way." The nurse led Lily down a hallway. "This is our intensive care unit. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were not seriously hurt, but they need to be watched closely. Ah, here we are. I'll leave you to talk in peace."

Lily waited until the nurse left and peeked into her parent's room. "Mum? Dad?"

(A/N: Yay? Nay? What should happen next? I need ideas. Was this good? If it wasn't, glowing- ice suggested something exiting. I suppose next chapter will be Lily with her parents…then maybe I'll skip to Christmas.)

Reviews! (you guys have been awesome reviewers!)

Johnny: Thank you for all of your kind words of encouragement. Although I doubt that my style of writing would ruin anything…

Glowing-ice: Yes, let the pranks begin, maybe next chapter.

"Josh G.": Open minded singer. Right. I can't even understand what you sing.

Lizzi, Elizabeth: Well, where I live at the moment, people start dating at about 6 and are pregnant by about 14…it's really scary. Except my friends and I don't get mixed up with those people.

Kiley: Thanks!


	5. Christmas

**A/N: I am perfectly aware that Horace Slughorn was the potions teacher when Lily was at Hogwarts. This is my story, however, so the potions mistress is still Chandra Amethyst. **

Disclaimer: If you know JKR owns it, well you're right.

Lily walked into the hospital room cautiously. "Mum? Dad? Petunia?" She took a chance and glanced at the beds. Her mother looked lively, but large burns covered her skin. Her father looked about the same, and Petunia seemed thoroughly annoyed about the whole situation…Lily noticed a few burns on her arms, but she seemed otherwise unscathed.

"Lily?" her mother asked. "Lily? Whatever are you doing away from school?"

"Mum, I had a dream that you were all murdered…I had to come…but I have to go very soon."

"Of course, dear," her father said. "We understand your situation. Please understand that we will be fine once they manage to clear up these burns. Did you go to the house?"

"Yeah…it was almost down to the ground. Where are we gonna live next?"

"I don't know, to be honest. Maybe in Surrey, but I don't know…"

"Ok, well, mum, dad, Petunia, I've got to go now."

Lily backed herself out of the room as politely as she could, and that took anther five minutes. After she was out of the room, Lily began to silently cry. When she was back outside the Hospital, Dumbledore held out an object for her to touch, and they were transported back to his office.

Jaina jerked awake. "Wha…oh, Professor Dumbledore! Lily! Lils, I was getting worried." She checked her watch. "It's almost time for breakfast. Let's go down to the Great Hall."

"No, Jaina…I think I need some time alone, thanks."

Lily walked out of the room, leaving Jaina behind. She made her way to the Gryffindor common room in a daze. She gave the password and was nearly trampled by Pettigrew, Black, Remus, and Potter. She was still silently crying, and, to her surprise, Potter noticed. He whispered something to his friends, and followed Lily into the common room. He found her curled up on an armchair, sobbing.

"Lily?"

"Leave me alone in my own misery, Potter," she choked.

"No, really, Lily, what's wrong?"

"If you must know, _Potter_, my house burned down last night. I have no personal possessions other than what I brought to Hogwarts…I found some charred pictures, but that was about it. Now I won't have anything to tell any children that I probably will never have anyway how I got this, that, or the other thing."

"Lily, I can't imagine what that would feel like…my home is protected by an anti-fire spell."

"Yes, Potter, you seem to be the ever-lucky one. The ever-arrogant one. Now leave me alone."

"I could rightfully say that you were a perfectionist who hated all but those close to you."

At that, Lily got up, pushed James aside, and ran up the stairs to her dormitory.

James dashed downstairs to breakfast, angrier than he could remember feeling in a while. "Stupid girl," he thought. "I was trying to comfort her, and she just left."

"Hey, mate," Sirius called from his seat. "That didn't take you very long, she all happy now?"

James made his way over to where his friends were sitting. "I told her the truth and she just ignored me, insulted me, and left."

"James," Remus said quietly, "did it ever occur to you that she was turned purple by you last night? That maybe she didn't want to be comforted by the person she despises most at the moment? Really, I thought that you had more sense. You don't want to get on the bad side of Lily Evans…I heard that she cursed someone out on the grounds a week ago because he told her that she had no right to be at Hogwarts."

"Try not to go near her, James," said Sirius. "We don't need you cursed. Just leave her alone…I think we _all_ (he glanced at Remus) should leave her alone. And everybody she associates with…at least for the rest of the year. So, is that a pact?"

James, Sirius, Peter, and after a moment, Remus all put their hands in a pile, and James raised his wand and pointed it at their hands. They glowed a faint blue for about five seconds. "There," he said. "Now, we have to leave her alone, excluding doing pranks, until we get our letters for second year. Got it?"

"Sure do."

"Sorta…"

"Alright, but if you were just nice to her…"

Lily was furious. "The nerve of Potter. He is so arrogant…" But Lily couldn't stop thinking about her house…what she had lost…all of her memories. She was so upset that she did not go downstairs, and just before she knew her friends would be coming up for bed, she drew her curtains and grew silent. They never realized that she was still awake, and, come next morning, they did not attempt to wake her. Letting her sleep off grief seemed like a good thing to do.

Lily, however, was not asleep when they left, nor had she slept all night. She did not want to get up and take a shower, and she was trying to convince her stomach that it was actually very full. This happened for four days on end, and, on the fifth day, her friends began to worry and pulled back the hangings on Lily's four-poster bed only to find a very thin, white, tearstained, and overall grungy Lily.

"Go away," Lily growled.

She was not in the mood to be told that she needed a shower, food, and would be better off being in classes, because they would take her mind off things. This was true, however, so Lily was dragged into the bathroom, and her friends waited until she came out, but now there were bags under her eyes that were so obvious that Jaina tried every trick with make-up that she knew to conceal them. She finally gave up and told Lily that she was going to the Great Hall this morning to have breakfast, go to class, eat lunch, go to class, eat dinner, and tonight she was going to get a good night's rest.

However, Lily didn't get the chance to even go into the Great Hall, because she collapsed in the Entrance Hall. Alice ran for Madam Pomfrey and returned in about a minute with the eccentric nurse at her heels.

"Goodness gracious, what happened here?" she demanded.

"I don't know…Lily just collapsed."

"Has she been eating anything?"

"No, her house burned down and she kept herself locked up out of depression."

"You should have called me straight away. No more of this nonsense about "I can handle it"."

"She wouldn't have liked it…"

"I don't care. She will be in the hospital until she gains back all of her weight and can safely run down to Hagrid's hut from the double doors and back. That is my final word."

Lily did indeed stay in the hospital for more than a week. Alice and Jaina visited her daily and brought her her homework. Gradually, Lily improved. Madam Pomfrey gave her sleeping potions at night, and made sure she ate decently, though it was difficult at first. At the end of her seventh day in the Hospital Wing, Lily jogged down to the gamekeeper's hut, but walked back. Lily began to get tired of the whole business, and finally made herself run down to her destination and back, and although she was quite out of breath, Madam Pomfrey reluctantly let her go. Lily was startled to find that Christmas was just around the corner. She bought things per mail order for her friends and family, including an enormous slab of chocolate for her mother, levitation shoes for her father, and a pair of white elbow length gloves that would never get dirty for Petunia, all of which she sent off late on Christmas Eve.

Lily woke up the next morning to find a pile of gifts at the foot of her bed. She picked up the first one (from her mother) and opened it to find a camera, and scrap book. She turned back to the card, she read:

_Dear Lily,_

_I want you to fill this book with memories from your career at school so that you can always remember this magical part of your life. Love, Mom._

She set the card up on her nightstand, put her gift aside, and turned to the next gift down. It was small box from Remus, containing a moonstone. The next, to her surprise, was from Potter. She opened it to find a gift certificate reading _Good for one prank on the person of James' choice._ Lily snorted in disgust and put it aside. The next package was from Black. It contained three chocolate frogs. Lily opened one and took a bite, only to spit it out (it tasted like vomit). After she opened the rest of her packages (an acid pop from Pettigrew, a Bertie Bott's Beans from Jaina, something called fizzing whizbees from Alice, and a plastic ring from Petunia), started gathering things up to put in her trunk. However, when she glanced back up, there was a large package in front of her. The card said only _Merry Christmas_, nothing more, no name, and the package hadn't been there before. She started ripping open the package. After she was able to get things out of the box, Lily pulled out a bear in perfect condition: the bear that she was given on her third birthday. Next, she pulled out a scrapbook filled with her childhood pictures. Tears welled up in Lily's eyes as she flipped through the book and memories came flooding back to Lily.

**Reviews!**

Kiley – Well, that all might happen, but I'm still brainstorming ideas, so we'll see!

Jilly Bean – That might work…

CrystalKisses – I think I might try to work all of that in!

Glowing-ice – questions answered?

Thanks All! Hope you enjoyed my latest chapter, and, as always, Review!


	6. The Joy of being a figure of Authority

The Joy of being a figure of Authority

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in JK Rowling's books. To say that I don't own anything Harry Potter related would be stupid, seeing as I have invented a few teachers, Jaina, have bought the movies and books…you get the idea…

**A/N: This dedication is not sarcastic…I have not gotten any flames, but this chapter is dedicated to glowing-ice, and she (and SoDecieving) will know why when they read the chapter. This is for all of my friends to have a little laugh before our best friend throughout middle school leaves…the one who teased but never left our sides through anything that may have happened to us. Thank you for your friendship.**

After Lily was done going through the mysterious box, she got ready to go down into the common room, not realizing that only three other people would be there: Remus, Black, and Potter. She dressed, and with tears still streaming down her face, she glided in a dreamlike state down the stairs to the common room.

"Potter? Black? Remus? What in the name of Voldemort are you doing here?"

"We stayed over for Christmas too, Evans," Potter said lazily. "We have just as much right as you do."

"I know that, Potter," Lily spat. "I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here…I signed up to stay first because I can't _stand_ my sister."

"Well, then we signed up after you just to _annoy_ you."

"Potter, you would annoy me even if you weren't here. Leave me alone."

With that, Lily swept out of the Portrait hole, thinking vaguely of going down to build a snowman. Once outside, an idea occurred to Lily. She made snowball after snowball, and enchanted them to fly up to the Gryffindor Common Room window in the shape of a snowy owl. When Potter saw the owl, she heard the window slide open, and watched the owl collapse on a speck of black. Then Lily watched in amusement as the owl reformed and did the same thing, each time causing Potter to scream bloody murder. It wasn't long before Potter, Remus, and Black were down on the grounds declaring a snowball fight, three on one.

Because Lily had only used one of her snowballs, she had the advantage in the beginning, but was soon pelted with two or three snowballs at a time. After a while, though, she did not see Potter with his best friends trying to make Lily miserable. The next time she turned around to get more snow, there was a pair of shoes right behind her. Slowly, Lily looked up, only to receive about five pounds of snow in her face.

"JAMES POTTER I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Lily screamed. She cleared the snow out of her eyes and tore after Potter, pelting him all the while with snowballs at the base of his neck. Finally, he tripped on something and fell spectacularly, giving Lily the chance to bury him in snow and run back into the castle for lunch.

When Potter and his friends came in for Lunch about10 minutes later, they didn't seem to realize that they were dripping wet. Dumbledore noticed, and with a gleam in his eyes, switched their 'menus' so that they could only order cold, summery stuff.

"I can't wait to get some clam chowder or something," Potter was saying. "I'm freezing, and I need some hot chocolate or something, too."

"James, mate, clam chowder or any other kind of soup or hot drink is not available, apparently. The only thing that's available is…chilled noodles!" Sirius pouted.

"But…but…but…Evans is eating soup and she has hot chocolate! No fair! Professor Dumbledore, is there anything other than chilled noodles and lemonade left in the kitchens?"

Chilled noodles and lemonade suddenly appeared on James' plate, having said 'chilled noodles and lemonade' directly over his plate.

"Let me see your menu, James. Hmm…it looks like that's all that's left, and it looks like, by what's on your plate, that that's what you wanted, so you're very lucky. Why, per chance, are you sopping wet. Is it, per chance, to annoy Mr. Filch, who is standing right behind you waiting for you to notice him?"

"No, Professor…you see, WHAT? HE'S STANDING RIGHT BEHIND ME?" Potter immediately turned around to see…nothing.

"Made you look! I'm terribly sorry James, but you see, in my seventh year here at Hogwarts, we had a little election. I was voted top for two things: most likely to succeed, and most likely to be an old man doing 'made you looks' on innocent children. Well, I guess that they were right! Now, why are you so wet?"

"Ev-Lily and Remus and Sirius and I…"

"James, do use correct grammar. Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, and yourself what?"

James flushed. "Yes, well, Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, and myself were having a snowball fight and I dropped a huge bunch of snow on Lily's head and she started chasing me, and I tripped, and she buried me alive in the snow…and…and…yeah."

"I can see that she buried you alive, unless you are currently a ghost that is eating…something I have never seen a ghost do…" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Professor?" asked James.

"Yes, James?"

"Can I have (he leans over his plate) clam chowder?"

"I daresay you'll find you can…but the proper grammar is 'may I'."

"Yes, Professor. Thank you."

At this, Lily could not contain her laughter any more. Just as she was taking a long sip of hot chocolate, she began to laugh. She tried and tried to keep herself from splattering it all over the table, but ended up puking it out through her nose. (AN: That happened to me. I smelled chocolate for a week.)

"What's the matter, Lilikins?"

However, Lily continued choking until Dumbledore waved his wand. Lily immediately got up from the table and fled.

"Lily Evans can puke through her nose…" were the whispers that flooded the school when all of the students were back from holiday.

"She puked up her hot chocolate…"

"Nah…James made her do it…"

"Was is a spell…or did she laugh…"

"James knows enough spells right now to make Evans do almost anything…"

After hearing this for three days, Lily was determined to beat Potter at _something_, so she went to see professor McGonagall.

"Excuse me, Professor,"

"Yes, Ms. Evans?"

"What is my ranking in the school for grades?"

"Ah…let me check…let's see now…there we are! Ms. Evans, you are ranking second under Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Professor."

Lily not only redoubled her work so that she would be top, but offered to help Potter in Charms, which was her best subject, and his worst.

"See, now? You have to think about what the answer is…I will not tell you…come and get me when you figure it out…of course, I may get it wrong…"

So, it was in this way that Lily Evans became top of her class before exams came. And when exams did roll around, Lily could be found up late at night studying Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Potions in turn.

Her first exam was Potions, first period, which Lily considered bad news, seeing as she hadn't exactly been a morning person recently. The stress from the exams that only Lily seemed to be feeling

**Reviews!**

**Hazel Maraa – thanks!**

**glowing-ice – what bet?**

**SoDecieving – (for chapters 2 & 3) too bad you were in Arizona and couldn't read my chapters as they came out…thanks for reviewing anyway!**

**A/N: Ok…I know some people are reading and not reviewing, but I'll post my chapters faster if I get more reviews…it makes me feel better…sniffle…please just take like three seconds and – I don't care if it's just one word – REVIEW! 20 hits and 2 reviews…there goes my creativity…down the drain…swirling in a little vortex off to the right…goodbye, little spark for the next chapter, I'll miss you! Cries …but anyway, thanks for reading! **


	7. On the Train

AN: So here's chapter 7…and I upped the rating for some of these ideas. I know that eleven-year-olds might not consider some things in this chapter…but anyone can be really depressed…

Disclaimer: If anybody who is reading this story believes for one second that I own Harry Potter, then I am flattered. Sadly, Harry Potter, his Parents, his Godfather, and the other people in this story whom you know to be in the Harry Potter story do not belong to me. I own the plot line and that's about it. Oh…and characters that aren't in the HP series…

When the exams were over, the rest of Lily's first year at Hogwarts seemed nonexistent. All too soon, Lily was boarding the train to go home. Professor Dumbledore had told the school the night before that sometime this summer everyone would receive an owl telling them how they had ranked in terms of grades. With that hope of mail over the summer, Lily hummed to herself and found an empty compartment to save for her friends. When everyone was on the train, she felt the pistons begin to work underneath her and the train started to bring her home.

Lily and her friends were each doing their own thing (i.e. reading, writing, and painting fingernails and toenails) when someone knocked at their compartment door. Lily went to open it and found Remus.

"Remus…wha…" Lily stopped short. Remus looked downright miserable and alone.

"Lils," he croaked, "Lils, can I talk to you?"

"Of course Remus, come in."

"Not here…I have another compartment reserved that I'm in."

"Ookaay…"

After they had sat down in Remus' compartment, tears started rolling down Remus' cheeks.

"Remus, what's wrong?"

"They…they…they…"

"They what, Remus?"

"They know, Lil…I made friends with them this year and they figured it out…Lils, I think they hate me for it."

"Who's they, Remus?"

"James, Sirius, and Peter."

"Look Remus…this isn't your fault…you had nothing to do with it. They pried, and if they desert you, I will hex them as best I can next year. There's nothing you could have done about it. Nothing."

"I didn't have to come to Hogwarts. I didn't have to inflict this on anybody…"

"Don't be stupid Remus…"

"Lily, you don't understand. They left me. And without them, I've lost the will to live. I'm a nuisance to my parents. They have to lock me in the cellar once a month with furniture to rip to shreds. I…I can't handle that anymore."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Lily, I brought you in here to say goodbye to you."

"Say…goodbye?"

"You won't see me again next year. Nor will the rest of the guys. I will never turn into a werewolf again, or walk, for that matter, after you leave this compartment. Goodbye, Lily. I enjoyed my time with you. You were like a sister. Goodbye."

Tears were streaming down Lily's face. "Remus…no! You can't! I won't leave here unless you come with me! You can't commit suicide! You're only twelve! You have your whole life ahead of – "

"No, Lils…that's where you're wrong. The guys were my life. I want you all to take care of each other. I want…no _need_ to end this pain. Just go."

Lily stood up and slowly walked to the compartment door. Slowly, she slid it open and took out her wand. Spinning around, she said "Petrificus Totalus!"

Remus became as stiff as a board. Lily ran out of the compartment and looked in every single compartment until she came across the one with a certain three boys in it. She flung the door aside and began yelling.

"JAMES POTTER! SIRIUS BLACK! PETER PETTIGREW! HOW DARE YOU! YOU INSENSITIVE PRICKS! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU…YOU…"

"Whoa, Evans…what's with all of the yelling?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB, POTTER! YOU DITCHED REMUS BECAUSE YOU FOUND OUT!"

"Evans, we would never do anything like that…we don't care!"

"OBVOISLY! BECAUSE IF I HADN'T TEMPORARILY PETRIFIED HIM JUST NOW, HE WOULD BE COMMITTING SUICIDE!"

"WHAT!"

"YES, BLACK, HE WOULD BE DEAD!"

"Lily, where is he?"

"THAT'S EVANS TO YOU, POTTER, AND IF YOU CARE, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME!"

Lily ran out of the compartment with James, Sirius, and Peter hot on her tail. When they reached the compartment Remus was in, she skidded to a half and pointed the boys in. They all took a seat while Lily pointed her wand at Remus.

"Enervate."

Remus sat up and immediately pointed his wand at himself.

"Remus, WHAT do you think you're doing?" James asked, whipping Remus' wand out of his hand.

"Yeah…like we care whether or not you're a werewolf," interjected Sirius.

Remus snorted. "You can't fool me…you didn't sit with me today…"

"We _offered_, Remus, but you said that you had _other stuff_ to do. You did not mention that that _other stuff_ included an attempt to kill yourself."

"Remus, is there anything I can get you while you talk this out with your friends?" asked Lily.

"Yeah…here's some gold. I want to go on a chocolate binge."

"Promise not to do this again?"

"Yeah, I promise…chocolate appeals to me more than death at the present moment."

Lily chuckled as she walked out of the compartment and headed for the engine of the train. She supposed that the woman with the trolley would be up with the conductor. About six compartments away from the engine, several boys stepped into the hallway. Lily stopped dead when she saw who they were.

Snape looked around. "Ah," he said softly, "a filthy little mudblood who doesn't need to be way up here in the pureblood territory. You'll pay for setting foot in Hogwarts where you don't belong, oh yes…"

Before Lily knew what was happening, Snape's cronies were advancing on her. She did not know what to do, and most unfortunately, drawing her wand did not occur to her. A boy she thought was named Curtis Crabbe seemed to advance more quickly than the others, though that could be because he swung out a fat arm and punched her in the mouth. Lily turned and fled back down the hall, vowing to get them back the next year.

As Lily was passing her compartment, Jaina stepped out.

"Lily! What happened to your face?"

Lily shook her head quickly and motioned for Jaina to follow her through the train. Two compartments later, they walked into a most unwelcome scene. Sirius and James were wrestling with Remus in an attempt to keep his wand from him.

"Imoblious!" Lily shouted. The scene froze; no one but Lily and Jaina were able to move. "WHAT do you think you are doing? Remus, how could you? You promised me! I thought that meant something! NO ONE wants you to commit suicide except the Slytherins, and they seem really intent at the moment of ridding the world of muggle borns, so you can't complain at the moment. Just for once in your lives could you ALL understand what the other is going through, or at least try to?"

Lily ran from the compartment and back to her own, more to check in _Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_ for a spell that would fix her mouth than anything else. Finally, she found it.

"_Clarificatious,_" Lily muttered, pointed her wand at her own mouth. Her mouth was instantly cleared, and the train began to slow.

Reviews!

**Ghilliekitten** (ch4) snort (ch5) lol…duh… (ch6) whatever…

**SoDecieving** thanks!

**Glowing-ice **you can't leave me! No! I'll kidnap you!

**Lizzie, Elizabeth** well, yes…but that chapter reminded me of a _lot_ of things that happened to me before my latest birthday…you could say that this story is starting to reflect me and some of my friends a little bit…

**Hazel Maraa** thanks! And Lils might get luckier later…

**Lightswitch** (ch2) thanx… (ch3) you'll see…

AN: Yay! Another chapter up! Well, you all know the drill…if you want more chapters sooner, Review, Review, and Review!


	8. Alone

Chapter 8: Alone

Disclaimer: You should know by now what I do or do not own…though there are some new characters this time…Mwahahahahaha

A/N: So…chapter 8…please review…it makes me happy…but if you totally and completely hate this story, tell me and I'll consider deleting it…but think about a lonely teenage girl's summer going to waste…

Lily froze, stunned. The train ride was over. She had been so caught up in school and what Remus had tried to do that she forgot about the fire. She had walked to the train station, and had assumed that she was to walk back, but now there was nothing to go home to. She suddenly felt helpless and lost. Her parents supported her, but would they come and pick her up? She did not know how far away her new home was…or where is was for that matter.

Lily walked sullenly off the train and slowly through the barrier, visualizing her friends all running into her parents arms and her looking around hopelessly for a family waiting patiently for her.

Reality was no different than imagination when Lily's first swept the station. _"They're not here…I'm alone now, at least until they realize that I should be home…and then they might not know where to look…Petunia should be happy…she probably knows that I should be coming home soon, but told mum and dad that it was a year round school or something. Not that she would know…"_

"Lils, where are your mum and dad?" Alice asked.

"Not here."

"Why aren't they here?"

"Probably think that a) I'm not coming home b) that I know where the new house is and I'm walking."

"What do they look like?"

"Dad has blonde hair and green eyes and is fairly tall, and mum has really long hair, and it's the same color as mine…and she has sky blue eyes."

"Names?"

"Xavier and Zoe Evans."

"Wait a moment while I write a letter. They'll be sorry that they aren't here!" Alice dug in her trunk.

"Alice," Lily said urgently, "Alice, don't send them a howler! There they are right now!"

"Wha…oh hi Mr. and Mrs. Evans!"

"Hello, Lily dear! And this must be a friend from school!"

"Yeah. Mum, Dad, this is Alice Moore. She and I share a dorm with a few other girls."

"Why hello, Alice dear! Lily, we need to be off. Petunia's at home with a little surprise."

"Oh, um, ok, mum. Owl me this summer, Alice! See you September 1st!"

"Kay! See ya, Lils!

Lily and her parents got into their car and drove off.

"So, mum," Lily said, once in the car, "will you give me a hint on what the surprise is, besides the new place we're living, that is?"

"No, but you will simply _love_ the new house, dear! You have your very own bedroom and bath room, but we left the decorations up to you."

After about twenty-five minutes, Lily's father parked the car in the driveway.

"Mum? Dad? Is this the right house? It looks so…so…different!"

"Well, it should, shouldn't it? You've never seen it before!"

The house was two stories tall with a peaked roof and a very large front lawn.

"This is amazing!"

"Well, come in and see the surprise! The house is _nothing_ compared to it!"

Lily ran up to the front doorstep and went in. She stopped dead at the sight. In the center of the very large living room was a playpen. And inside the playpen were two of the most adorable children Lily had ever seen.

"Mum! What are these babies doing here!"

"Don't fret, Lily. We adopted them last week. Aren't they adorable?"

"Totally! Are they twins? What are their names? How old are they?"

"Yes, they are twins. Their names are Isabelle and Elijah. They are two months old."

"Can I hold them?"

"You forgot to do something."

"You think that I wouldn't have washed my hands?"

"Something else, dear."

"What…oh! Hi, Petunia! How was your year?"

"Hello, freak. My year was fine. But I have things to do this summer. And mum and dad have to work. That leaves you with the twins. Enjoy." With that, Petunia stalked up the stairs, presumably to where her room was.

"You're okay with that, aren't you, Lily?" her father asked, somewhat anxiously.

"What? Oh, yeah, sure!"

"And dear, your father and I will be working late on several occasions. Petunia probably won't be downstairs or even reachable then. Is that okay?"

"Mum, I'm almost 12…of course it's okay! I can do these things by my self!"

"Good. Now if you'll follow me, I'll show you your new room…I think you'll like it."

Lily's mother led her up a flight of stairs and down a long, dimly lit corridor. At the very end of the corridor, she stopped, pointing Lily into her new room. It was pretty enough, Lily thought, but it definitely needed paint that color and some designs and posters on the walls. She turned around and looked at her mother.

"Thanks, mum. It's really nice…but can I paint and stencil it? To make it more me?"

"Of course, dear. We saved the brochures from when we did the rest of the house. Almost every color is there, but we ended up doing off whites and pale yellows all over, but we left your room white so that you could fix it the way you wanted it."

"Thanks! I'll decide on the colors tomorrow, and choose stencils so that you can order them…by the way, what schedule for eating and napping are the twins on?"

"They eat after they wake up. We put them down for a nap every mid morning and mid afternoon. In short, they have five small meals per day."

"What time do you all leave in the morning?"

"Six-thirty. Thank you so much for taking care of the twins for us…"

"No problem! Good night, mum."

"What about dinner?"

"I'm not hungry, thanks." In truth, her experience on the train had taken away her appetite, and she didn't trust herself to eat anything and keep it down.

The next morning, Lily's 'other life', as she referred to it, began. Taking care of two children was difficult and did not leave her with much time for her other hobbies, such as running, and reading. In fact, she soon realized that she couldn't even leave her house. As time passed, her parents ordered out more and more, and box dinners were also common meals. About three weeks into the summer, Lily found herself sitting up waiting for her parents to come home, and found herself hungry. So, she got up and looked around the kitchen. She found box dinners, vegetables that were supposed to be used in a few days, and instant lunches, none of which appealed to her due to her recent forced eating habits. She kept poking around until she found a bag of potatoes. As a last resort, she cut up a few of the potatoes, put some oil in the bottom of a pie pan, then dumped the potatoes in along with some salt. She threw it in the microwave for about five minutes. _Ah, _she thought,_ the joys of having nuked 'tater tots. Maybe there'll be something around for breakfast. Somehow, I doubt it. _

All too soon, Lily's birthday came. And went. Without acknowledgement, it seemed, Lily turned twelve. She did not receive any cards from her friends at Hogwarts, and her parents did little more than "Happy Birthday, dear," before rushing off to work. No special dinner, no day off from the twins, just one "Happy Birthday". Slowly but surely, a feeling of rejection and insecurity crept into Lily's thoughts.

As the summer wore on, Lily talked less to her parents, and stopped staying up late in the evenings to welcome them home. Often, she skipped breakfast, dinner, or both. Her friends did not write as they had promised that they would, and she did not write them…they could contact her if they wanted to. Self-inflicted solitary confinement often appealed to Lily, and she began to resent going to Hogwarts in the first place. Yes, she loved the magical world, but she was now missing a special connection with her family. She now felt rejected and alone.

Soon her letter from Hogwarts came. It was the only communication from wizards she had had all summer. The best thing about the letter was that she had indeed made top of her class. Trying to ignore resentment of not getting letters from her friends, Lily called her mother and made arrangements to ride her bike to Diagon Alley, were she could have some peace for once during the summer.

Reviews!

**Hazel Maraa** – thanks! When I have a really good idea up my sleeve, then I update…what should I do next…and should I skip second year?

**Kiley** – It always seems to me like the second half of the year does go by faster…

**ghilliekitten – **they had already left Hogwarts…which you would have realized if you had read the chapter. Also, this story is about LILY, thank you very much…lol…thanks for the review…

**glowing-ice** – agreed…and you had better not kill yourself in a car crash before I get around to coming to see you…

**liteswitch** – satisfied?

A/N: Ah, the power of loneliness and resentment…the pressure's on Lily now…she needs to accept herself…and I know that that never easy…your choice flavor of cyber-ice cream to anyone who reviews! ;)


	9. Year 7 Begins

A/N: Ok…big apology due here. I haven't updated in a LONG time, but AP High school classes were in the way…forgive me for being such a lousy writer…I'll understand completely if you hate me. But I'm on Fall Break now and I'll try to update again before it's over. And now for the big surprise (dun dun dun!):

I'm going to skip to seventh year now because I am at a loss for other things to write about. If you hate that, send me ideas…sorry for not updating, but you know, with dance class and piano on top of AP classes…you can imagine…but I put in a summary of the five years I skipped for everyone's edification:

Summary of Lily's next years:

Second year: nothing out of the ordinary…

Third year: Hogsmeade, obviously…James bugging Lily…

Fourth year: More James bugging Lily…

Fifth year: OWLs…you know what happened there…

Sixth year: James bugs Lily…

Ok…so now that you know what happened…Jaina and Alice are still Lily's best friends, but Lily and Remus have grown apart. They don't torment each other, but they are not as close as they were at the end of first year. Sirius is being Sirius…and James…well…he isn't an egotistical prat anymore. If you hate this, tell me and I'll consider changing it. But I need ideas.

Disclaimer: You know what JKR owns and whom I own.  (it is whom, right?)

**At Platform 9 ¾**

"LILY!"

Lily laughed. "Hi, Jaina! Oh my gosh, Jaina! You look so good!" Jaina's appearance had changed drastically. She hadn't grown, but she was thin and had blonde streaks in her dark hair.

"Thanks! You do to…but when will you grow? I swear that you're the same height as you were in first year!"

"Not true! I've grown four inches!"

"Will you two stop fighting?"

"ALICE!" The two girls squealed.

"It's so good to see you two!" Alice said.

"Save me a seat, will you guys? I have to go to the Head compartment…and see who I have to put up with for the rest of the year," Lily said.

"Ohmygosh! Lily? Did you actually make Head Girl?" asked Jaina.

"No, Jaina, she didn't. She's just trying to confuse you. Of course she got it, you idiot," Alice said, grinning.

"JAINA! JAINA! JAINA!"

Jaina turned, rolling her eyes. "WHAT, Jacen? Don't bug me NOW!"

"Who is Jacen?" Lily asked.

"My little brother."

"JAINA, I don't want to get on the train! I'm not going to see mum or dad again for a while! I don't WANT to go to Hogwarts!" Jacen complained.

"JACEN, will you QUIT it! You'll get to see mum and dad at Christmas! And you can write to them and stuff! You'll make tons of friends at Hogwarts, don't worry! You'll be so busy you'll be shocked how fast Christmas comes!"

"Bye, everyone, I really have to go!" Lily reminded them. "I'll see you later."

"Bye Lils!"

"See ya!"

"JAINA!"

Lily walked off, rolling her eyes. Jacen looked almost exactly like Jaina…and by the sound of it, it was a typical little sibling-big sibling relationship. Sigh. At least she would be really busy this year. She reached the head compartment and saw that it was guarded by a picture of a Golden Retriever. The dog was sitting on its hind legs, and scratching itself behind the ears. It saw her badge pinned to the front of her robes and the picture seemed to melt away, giving Lily entrance to the compartment. She sat down and a few minutes later was joined by James Potter.

"Very funny, Potter. You've had your fun and you have seen what the compartment looks like. Now go give the badge back to whoever you took it from."

Lily looked at James as he said this and was taken aback. She did not remember the pure look of those hazel eyes or that simply _adorable_ way his hair stuck up on end in the back…

"What are you talking about, Lily?" James smiled and took out his letter. "See for yourself that yours truly is the one and only Head Boy."

Lily took the letter and began to read:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

We are pleased to inform you that this year, in addition to keeping the position of Quidditch Captain, you have received the place of Head Boy. Please meet your Head counterpart in the Heads compartment on the train September 1…

"Well, congratulations, Potter."

"Lily, I've been thinking,"

"You mean you can actually use your head? Amazing. And that's Evans to you."

"_Lily_, I think it's time that we started talking to each other civilly, because we're going to have to spend this year together. Can we call a truce? I swear that I won't prank you this year, or any of your friends. And…yes, Lily, I'll _try_ to restrain from torturing Sniv-uh…Snape too much."

"In that case, _James_, truce. But right now we need to go and talk to the prefects."

"Alright, Lily," James said, smiling to himself. _"I love how it sounds when she says my name,"_ James thought. _"AND she is SO much more beautiful than I remember her!"_

"You can call me Lils," Lily corrected him. _"Damn it, I love it when he just agrees with me like that…why couldn't he have been like this forever?"_ With those thoughts, Lily began fingering something around her neck.

"What's that?" James asked, noticing.

"The locket that my parents gave me for my 17th birthday. See?"

"It's beautiful! Mind if I open it?"

"Go ahead. I don't mind…"

James opened the locket. "Lils…this is empty."

Lily sighed. "I know. It's empty because no one has given me their heart. When that happens, I'll put their picture in the locket. I'm going to wear it every day because it reminds me that some day I'll have a picture to put in it…and it will stay there as a constant reminder…forever."

James gave Lily a hug, but she squirmed away. "What…aren't I allowed to give you a hug?"

"No! James, we're at the Prefect carriage! Pay attention!"

Later, After the Prefect Meeting 

"So, Lils…how was your summer?"

"It was ok…you know…I'm of age so I don't have to put up with Petunia anymore, yada, yada, yada…the usual. I'm not of age for the muggle world, though. And since that's the world that my parents live in, I'm only half of age. I'll get the big stuff next summer, I suppose. This was still a nice present, though," she said, holding up the locket. "What about your summer?"

"Well, it was the same as always…you know…my parents both work at the Ministry, but I wasn't alone, you know…Sirius lives with me."

"Really? Why?"

"Because he hates his family."

"Ah…ok…"

Just the train began to slow.

"Are we there already?" Lily yelped.

James laughed. "Yes! I can't believe it! It doesn't seem like it's taken any time at all, does it?"

"Absolutely no time! Crap…I hope Jaina and Alice aren't too mad at me!"

"How could they be mad at you?"

"I told them that I would meet them before the train ride was over!"

"Crap! That's what I told Padfoo – I mean Sirius, Remus and Peter!"

"Oh well! I guess we'll see them at the feast!"

After the Feast… 

"I would like to introduce the new Head boy and girl! James Potter and Lily Evans!" Dumbledore said. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, please see me in my office now. For everyone else, I think it is time for bed."

Lily and James got up and made their way through the crowd. Finally, they reached the stone gargoyle, Dumbledore waiting beside it. He gave the password ("Animagi") and the ascended the moving staircase to the professor's office. Once inside, he gestured to two chairs before the desk to indicate that the two Heads should sit.

"Congratulations on making Head boy and Girl. You will have many new responsibilities this year and some of those include organizing special events for the school. You will not be in charge of Hogsmeade visits, but I would like you to come up with a list of things that you would like to accomplish by Christmas. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your new rooms. I hope you'll find them to your liking. Furthermore, I would like to tell you in advance: no one other than you two will be able to enter this room. Even if the password gets out to your friends, they will not be able to enter, even with you by their side. Ah, here we are. The password is Lemon Drop. Good night."

They had reached the same portrait that had guarded the Head's compartment on the train. "Electricity," Lily said. The dog stretched as if to say that it was doing this as a particular favor and not to forget it, and melted away to allow entrance into the Heads dorms.

Lily gasped as she entered. They were in a huge common room with two desks and several two bookshelves containing all of their books from previous school years, along with some others. There were two recliners and a love seat, all crimson with gold edging, grouped around the fire, which was crackling merrily. There was one staircase, and Lily and James both made for it. On the first landing, they found two doors, each with a plaque reading the name of the intended occupant. Lily opened the one on the right and peeked in. The room was huge. She had a king sized bed, and by the look of it, it was the same kind of bed that she had at home. Resisting the urge to explore the room further, she and James continued up the stairs. On the second landing, a balcony overlooking the grounds and the forest. There was a table and two chairs set on the deck of the balcony. Surprisingly, the stairs continued up after the balcony. They ended at a single door. James and Lily looked at each other.

"Do you want me to open it or do you want to?" James asked.

"I'll do it."

Lily opened the door and found a swimming pool and hot tub.

"Oh wow," Lily breathed. She felt herself being lifted off the ground. She screamed. "JAMES! JAMES POTTER DON'T YOU DA-" but her words were cut off as luke-warm water closed over her head. She came up and looked over at James. He was doubled up with laughter. "JAMES! How could you!"

"Sorry, Lils…couldn't resist. Let me help you out of there."

Lily stretched out her hand for James to take and pulled him in with her.

"LILY!"

Lily began to laugh. "You know as well as I do that one good turn deserves another, Potter!"

"It's back to 'Potter' now is it?"

"Nah…I just had to tease you! Let's BOTH get out and go to bed now."

"Why? It's Saturday. For the first time, September 1 isn't on a Sunday or some other random day. We have tomorrow off!"

"_I'm_ going to bed, believe it or not. It's SO late and we have more exploring to do tomorrow."

"Whatever, Lils!"

The next morning Lily awoke and was momentarily disoriented. Then the night before came back to her. She laughed, and decided to explore her room, in hope of finding a bathroom. Before coming across the bathroom, she discovered a walk-in closet. There was also a vanity, dresser, desk, and bookcase. She walked into the bathroom to find that it was huge. She took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs only to find James sitting in one of the recliners reading.

"Took you long enough to get up, Lils!"

"Hey, I sleep in on the weekends!"

"Okay…so what do you want to do today. You missed breakfast."

"I'm going to invite Jaina and Alice swimming."

"Lils…you can't…remember? They can't get in! Oh, and I got this message from Dumbledore this morning." James handed her an open letter that had been sitting on the table. It read:

_Dear Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans,_

_I hope that you are enjoying your new dorms. As an extra twist to your Headship this year, you will not be allowed to leave your dormitories on Sundays. All Quidditch games will be held on Saturday, so Mr. Potter, you do not need to worry about missing the games. I suggest that you schedule all dances for Saturdays as well. A house-elf will bring you food. I also strongly advise that you either finish your homework on Saturdays or get the needed books to do so from the library on Saturdays. _

_Yours Sincerely,_

Professor Dumbledore 

Lily fell back onto the love seat after reading the letter.

"What does Dumbledore think he's playing at? No contact with the outside world on Sundays? Why?"

"I don't know…but would you care to join me swimming?"

Lily grinned. "Why not? We've got nothing better to do, right?"

"Right. I'll meet you at the pool in…ten minutes?"

"Sure" _"We could always stay down here and talk,"_ Lily thought. _"Oh well…I get to see him with his shirt off! No! Don't think about that…you're only being civil to him. You still hate him…right?"_

A/N: Ok…so I made it an extra long chapter just because I haven't updated. If you hate it, love it, or want something to happen, I need to know. I'm not telepathic. So review, please! And many thanks to _Hazel Maraa_, _ghilliekitten_, _Kiley_, _Lizzi, Elizabeth_, and _prettyprincess_ who are the best people in the world because they like my story…or did…


	10. What Will Come Is Coming

Disclaimer: It's all mine! My own! My precious! Except not really. If it was mine…I wouldn't exactly be posting this, would I?

A/N: If you hate me for not updating sooner, go and yell at my teachers…I've been working so hard to try and pull the "All A's" thing…and I hope I did, and I hope I can update again before school starts. And now for the chapter…

**Chapter 10** What Will Come Is Coming

Lily and James swam all morning, and it was past noon when Lily got out of the pool. She wrapped a towel around herself, clipped her red hair up, and went down into the common room to find food on one of the tables in their common room. She chose what she wanted and went to sit in the warm September sunlight on the second floor deck. What was it going to be like, staying in the Head's dorms every Sunday? What was going to become of her 'just truce' relationship with James? Would she be able to keep herself from becoming one of his many trophies – one of the many girls that fell for him and had had their hearts broken afterwards? She knew that she had fallen for him…and she knew he was itching to ask her out again, but was afraid of ruining his chances. If he asked her out, what would she say? Would she deny it to her friends that she had fallen for the Potter charm? No, bad things would happen if she lied about it or denied it…or would they? _Mistakes can be rectified_, she told herself. _I can always undo what I have done._

James sat in his darkened room after he got out of the pool, sometime after Lily had. _"Why do I have to love her? Why can't I see her as a friend…the way she sees me,"_ he thought. _"She's just so damn beautiful! It's taken all of my control today not to kiss her…not to ask her out…but if I do stuff like that, I know that I'll be shunned…and I can't handle that one more time. I'll try one last time at Christmas…Lily never goes home because of her sister. Someday I will be in that locket…and we'll get married…if not I don't think that I'll ever love again. She's my angle, and she's kindling a fire under my soul…if she stops kindling it, it just might burn out…"_

The next morning dawned bright and early, and Lily was up at the crack of dawn to assure that she would not miss breakfast. Her friends had not seen her since the opening feast, and she knew that they would be very worried.

She met them on the way to the Great Hall, and greeted them cheerily. "Hi Jaina! Hi Alice!"

"LILS!" screamed Jaina. "Where were you yesterday?"

"I'm not allowed to leave the Head's Dorm on Sundays. I'm stuck in there with Potter for all of that time," Lily explained, but she thought _"Potter? Where did that Potter stuff come from? Why is it Potter now and James otherwise? Oh, right. No one knows I like him. I'm lying to everyone about that little detail. What? No! I decided I wouldn't lie! Crap! But…do I really even have a crush? Nah, it was just because I actually had fun in the pool. My little fling is so over!"_

"Ugh! I really feel sorry for you! At least we get to roam around! Hey, can we come and see your dorm?" asked Alice, her round face shining with excitement.

"Dumbledore said that no one but the Heads could get in…but I don't know how that could be. I guess we could try," Lily said. "Meet me at the Fat Lady after dinner?"

"Yes!" Jaina and Alice said in unison.

The day flew by for Lily, her classes were just the same as ever, and before she knew it, she was taking her friends to see her dorm. They reached the portrait of the Golden Retriever, and Lily gave the password, and stood back for Jaina and Alice to walk in first.

"What happened?"

"Nothing changed!"

"Is this some kind of joke, Lil?"

"I want to see your dorm!"

"Can't you two see inside?"

"No!"

"I want to see your dorm!"

"It hasn't become all transparent for you two?"

"No!"

"I want to see your dorm!"

"You can't see the crimson couch and Jam-Potter sitting there?"

"No!"

"I WANT TO SEE YOUR DORM!"

"ALICE! I know you want to see my dorm! But Dumbledore knew what he was doing! You can't see my dorm! I'm sorry! Just go back to the Gryffindor common room and I'll meet you two downstairs tomorrow!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Lil," Alice said, defeated.

Lily walked in, laughing quietly to herself, and sat down next to James.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…Alice and Jaina wanted to see my dorm, but I guess Dumbledore knew what he was doing." She smiled.

"Did you really think that Dumbledore would have told us that they couldn't get in if they could?"

"Are you scoffing at me, Potter?"

"And what if I am?"

"You…you…I can't believe you! It's not my fault that my friends didn't believe me! Do you think that it's my fault? Well?"

"I…Lils, what happened to our truce?"

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Lils, of course it's not your fault, but-"

"But what? There are no 'buts' when you try to explain something!"

"But Lils!"

"Leave me alone, Potter!"

"Fine, Evans. Fine…"

With that, Lily stormed off to her bedroom. _The nerve of him,_ she thought. _Like it's my fault. I guess he hasn't changed. Well, so much for him…maybe I'll taunt him…yes, that would be good…but how…_

A/N ok, so thank you all so much for reading my story…it's not exactly the best chapter, and short, I know, but at least I updated!

Thank you to my reviewers: Hazel Maraa; ghilliekitten; glowing-ice; Lizzi, Elizabeth; liteswitch; and Pink Luvin Goddess. Yay!

Now you all know the drill (I hope)…Click the little button that says GO and REVIEW!


	11. Collision

A/N: Ok, so here it is…even though I only got a few reviews on it, and THANK YOU so VERY much to those of you who did! I was inspired today after I posted a new story and got eight reviews for it…so here's chapter 11!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my imagination. Only I own that.

Chapter 11 – Collision 

Lily stayed angry with James for the rest of the week…then Sunday rolled around. When Lily tried to get out of their common room, the door wouldn't budge.

"Damn it!" Lily exclaimed when she remembered Dumbledore's note. "I have to spend the day with Potter and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"Evans? Were you complaining about having to spend a day with James Potter? Aww, come on, you know we'll have fun!"

"Fun? Fun! Not a chance, Potter! _I_ have homework to do!"

"What? A foot long essay for McGonagall? Are you worried that it'll take you more than half an hour?"

"Just because _you're _a whiz at transfiguration doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face!" Lily shouted. She stormed off to her room and sat down at her desk to begin her work, fuming. _'Why does he have to be so arrogant?'_ she wondered. _'Why can't he be nice and considerate for one day?'_

James, on the other hand was not mad, merely shaken. _'I honestly don't know what I do to offend her. Oh well, I'll just go for a swim…I'm done with all of _my_ homework!'_

As James predicted, it took Lily no more than half an hour to finish her essay. As she had no more homework, she changed into her swimsuit, swimming being practically the only thing to do. She braided her hair to keep it out of her face and headed upstairs. She ignored James completely and dove off the diving board. What she did not count on was James floating lazily where she was headed.

"JAMES!"

James looked around a split second too late. Lily had attempted to come out of the dive and ended up doing a belly flop…on top of James. He was forced under water and when he came up spluttering he saw Lily clinging to the side of the pool, coughing and clutching her side. Despite the bruise that rapidly appearing where Lily had hit him, he swam swiftly over to her.

"James, I'm so sorry," Lily whispered, tears spilling out of her emerald eyes, and stray hair clinging to her cheeks.

"No, Lils, I'm sorry. I should have looked…and I'm sorry for making you mad earlier this week. I just found it funny. And today, I was just commenting that it wouldn't take you very long to do the essay. McGonagall went over it like ten times in class before assigning us the essay." Before he knew it, Lily was sobbing into his shoulder. "Lils?" He said weakly. "Lils? What's wrong?"

"We called a truce…and I couldn't keep it! I went back on my part! I yelled at you and I can't blame you for snapping back at me! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Lily!" James choked out. "Lily, I had no right to make you feel what you're feeling now." While talking, James started edging towards the steps to get Lily out of the pool. "Lily, look at me. Are you hurt?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Can you walk?"

"Y-yes."

"Why don't you go to your room and make sure you're alright," James said, wincing as his legs bent to walk up the steps out of the pool.

"Okay, I guess."

"Meet me in our common room in half an hour?"

"Kay."

James walked into his room and looked in the mirror. His whole abdomen was slowly turning black and blue. "Damn it, I have Quidditch practice tomorrow…and it's full moon tomorrow, too. I'm gonna be in serious pain…"

Lily's arms and legs were red from their impact with the water, and she could tell that her midriff would be bruised, but mostly sore. Sighing, she clipped up her hair and went to meet James in the common room.

"Lils?" James' voice called from the couch as she came out of her room.

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna be ok?"

Lily smiled. "Yup, just a little sore. You?"

"I'll be ok, but sore. You realize that you probably would have missed me if you hadn't freaked out?"

Tears welled in Lily's eyes. "Oh, so that's another thing I can't do right, is it?"

"No, Lils, that's not what I meant," James muttered. "Just forget it…I would have freaked too."

"And I wouldn't have been in you way…I would have at least tried to know where I was in the pool," Lily shot back, her tears turning to anger at once.

"Lils…remember our truce."

"Me? Remember our truce? You started it this time, Potter!"

"Must you use my last name again?"

"Yeah, Potter, I must. I see no reason to call you by your first name, James!" _'Huh? You see no reason to call him by his first name and then you say his first name? Ok, several things wrong with that. One. You love him. Two. He was probably just teasing you. Three. You told him that you weren't going to use his first name and then you used it.'_

"But you just called me by my name. And I have my reasons for calling you Lily! Let's see…one. It's politically correct. Two. Lilies are my favorite flowers. And I like the way it sounds, Lily. Three. I love you." James broke off, confused at what he just said. Then he clapped his hand over his mouth and stared in horror at Lily. She stared back at him, stunned.

"You – you love me?"

James swallowed. "Yes, Lily. I – I love you. But if you don't love me back…"

"James…it's not that…I don't know…give me time to think this over, okay?"

James forced a smile. "Alright. Now, let's plan the Winter Ball, shall we?"

Lily nodded and sat down, pulling out parchment and quill from her bag as she did so. "F-formal attire or casual?"

"Formal, I think."

"Me too. Umm…Decorations?"

"Hogwarts Banner, mistletoe, holly, fake snow, fairies?"

"Sounds good. Can we also have trees and icicles?

"Of course!"

"When?"

"The Saturday before we go on break?"

"Shall we enlist the prefects to help us decorate?"

"I think that we should do it ourselves if possible."

Lily raised her eyebrows at him.

"No, really! Look, the trees will already be up and everything, and we can use magic to conjure stuff and place it. It shouldn't take more than…three hours or so…I think we can do it…we can always ask Remus, Sirius, Jaina, and Alice if need be. I doubt Peter would be more a hindrance than a help, though. He never was good at Charms."

Lily giggled. "Alright, if you insist."

"Oh but I do."

Lily rolled her eyes. "By the way, who decided that there would be a Winter Ball?"

"Me."

"Did you ever ask me?"

"When I asked you if you wanted to start planning it. You held no objections to plan it."

"You're unbelievable!" Lily giggled.

"So're you."

"In what way?"

"You're eyes are unbelievably green…so beautiful…they contrast with your hair so nicely to make you look amazing."

"Stop trying to flatter me, Potter! You know it won't work!"

"How would I know that?"

"You just know it…you've crushed on me for seven years, James! You know what will work on me…even if I do my best to ignore everything."

"I haven't crushed on you for seven years, Lily," James corrected her softly.

"Alright, six and a little bit."

"No. I've crushed on you for five and a half years. The first five and a half years it was a crush. After that…"

"What?" Lily ventured softly.

"N-never mind."

"Fine, don't tell me, but, James, you had better be grateful that I am back on speaking terms with you!"

"And why, Lils, would that be?"

"Because I was seriously considering something that would make you miserable…even if I didn't like it."

"And that would be?"

"Like I'd tell you! Just know that if I'm ever mad at you again…really mad at you…you deserve what's coming to you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Lily Flower."

A/N: There it is…thank you again to my lovely reviewers…can I have a few more please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? I'll honestly try to be better about updating! R&R, people, R&R!


	12. The Ball

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter stuff. Sadly. I also do not own any of the lyrics that appear later in the chapter.

A/N: ok…this chapter was like 11 ½ pages long…so be happy . Enjoy! R&R!

Before the Head Boy and Girl knew it, Christmas break was almost upon them. Professor McGonagall, as always, sent around the list as to who would be staying for the holidays. Lily put her name down immediately, not wanting to go home to the 'last Christmas with Petunia as an Evans'. Lily did not yet have a date for the dance as of the day before. Coincidentally, she found herself talking to the Head Boy the night before they were to do the decorating.

"Going home for Christmas?" he asked.

"No. My sister is getting married next spring and my parents are making this huge deal about having one last Christmas with their eldest child."

"Oh. Fun."

"Precisely why I'm not going. You going home?"

"Nah, my parents have to work all through break. So I stay here. Who're you going to the dance with?"

Lily sighed. "No one has asked me yet. You?"

"No one."

"You haven't been asked?"

"Oh, I've been asked, I just didn't want to go with any of the blonde bimbos who asked me."

Lily snorted. "Well, I'm off to bed. We have to decorate the _whole_ Great Hall _by ourselves_ tomorrow, don't forget."

"I know. Hey, Lils?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here for a minute."

"Why?"

"Just come here!"

"Fine," Lily muttered.

"Lily, will you go to the Winter Ball with me?"

Lily stood there for a moment, speechless.

"Lily?"

"Umm…."

"I take that as a no?" James sighed, turning away.

"James, you always assume the worst, don't you."

"Well, all you said was 'um' so I assumed…"

"You assumed wrong."

James looked up in disbelief. "Wha-"

His words were cut off in a kiss. They broke apart and Lily grinned shiftily. James looked down at her, and a true smile broke on his face…after six and a half years of waiting, James Potter had the girl of his dreams.

"This is the best Christmas gift I could have hoped for, Lily," he said.

"What makes you think that my saying yes to you was your Christmas present?"

"Oh, nothing…I just assumed…"

"Are you always this arrogant, Jamie?"

"You tell me, Lily Flower! And don't call me Jamie!"

"What do you suggest then, Jamie?"

"I suggest you call me…hmm…James."

"You are so boring, Potter."

"And it's midnight, Evans."

"Well then, I'd better go to bed…we have a LOT of decorating to do tomorrow, Potter!"

"See you in the morning, Lils."

"Goodnight, James."

"Goodnight, Lily."

The next day, decorating went, as James had predicted, very quickly.

"You know, Lils, it's not every day that someone gets to go to their last winter ball with the one person you love," James whispered.

"Oh, shove it, Potter!" Lily hissed back. "Stop trying to get me to show you what I'm wearing!"

"You know me way too well, Lily…but I love you…that was not a lie!"

"_I'm_ going to get ready."

"B-but Lils! It's three hours till the ball!"

"The better for me to have more time to attempt to make myself halfway decent. You know, Potter, I really don't know _what_ you see in me, but…if you do…the better for you…"

"Whaddya mean, you don't know what I see in you?"

"I really don't, James!"

"Well, for one thing, I love your hair and your eyes and your personality…"

"Oh stop it! I'm gonna go get ready!"

Once Lily had finally escaped her date, she tore into her room. The first thing, obviously, was to take a shower, which she did…and when she was done, she dried it with a simple flick of her wand. She then sat on her bed and looked through all of the wizarding hair styling books she had found in the library. She finally found one she liked. It pictured the hair in twists to the back of the head, and held up magically and cascading out of the twists with one big twist. It was a half up half down thing really, and all of her hair that was not in twists was curled lightly. She preformed the charm (A/N: don't ask me what it was, though) and made it look like she had spent hours on it by adding a white clip on top of the big clip. She then got out her make-up and set to work. She hardly ever used make-up…why make herself break out unless it was completely necessary? She put on some light pink blush to make her porcelain skin have a little color, put on black mascara and light green eye shadow, and topped it off with clear lip gloss. Lily then turned to her dress. It was white and strapless, plain and simple with no designs. It hung straight to her feet and had a shawl that was made of the same fabric. She slipped it on and stepped into her glittering heels.

Glancing at the clock, Lily received a jolt of surprise. It was half an hour to the dance and she was supposed to be waiting to let people in ten minutes. Reluctantly, she walked out of her room and saw James waiting for her, dressed in emerald dress robes. His hair was as messy as ever, but Lily could see he had attempted to calm it…making it worse.

"Wow…Lily…umm…wow…"

Lily laughed. "I take it you like it?"

"Like is an understatement, Lils…you look…beautiful!"

"Thanks…I like your outfit too…very dashing one a handsome man…"

"You tease!"

"No. I don't. You do. Now lets go see what everyone else is wearing, shall we?"

When they reached the Great Hall, Lily spotted her two friends at once. Both were dateless and hoping to find people at the ball. Jaina's dress had a royal blue bodice that shimmered, making it look almost black in some places with a portrait collar and an extra full skirt of black tulle and crinoline over royal blue taffeta. Alice's was the same except her skirt was not as full and was made of blood red and black instead of royal blue and black.

Lily squealed. "Oh my gosh you guys! I love your dresses!"

"Yours it great too, Lily…and you have a date I see!"

"Duh," James said. "Did you really expect me to let the most beautiful person in the school to go to her last dance dateless?"

"No," Alice said, "But I think that you couldn't look better with Lily…your emerald dress robes with her white dress…when you're dancing you'll look absolutely wonderful together!"

"Thanks…you know, James, it's time to let people in…we should really open the doors."

"Right…"

James and Lily wove themselves to the front of the crowd waiting to get in to the Great Hall.

"Hello, and welcome to the Winter Ball," James said.

"We know you are all looking forward to a night full of fun, so with out further ado, we give you the Winter Ball!"

James and Lily turned around and pushed the doors open, revealing the Great Hall to be decorated so that it…shone. People seated themselves at tables set for either two or four. James took Lily's hand and brought her to a table for two. He, being a gentleman, pulled out the seat for Lily, then pushed it back in, and then seated himself.

Lily looked over her menu and said clearly over her plate, "Crab Alfredo, Clam Strips, and…water."

James, on the other hand, said "Enchiladas Del Mar, and water."

"What the heck is Enchiladas Del Mar?" Lily asked

"I believe the literal translation is Enchilada of the Sea. Want some?"

"How do you know what an Enchilada is?"

"I visited Spain a while ago during the summer…"

"Ah…is the chili hot?"

"Sort of…it has definite bite."

"Then I probably don't want to have any. That would be awkward if the Head Girl had to leave because of indigestion."

"So it would. But if you don't mind me asking, Lils, what compelled you to say yes to me when I asked you to come to the Ball with me?"

"I guess the years of trying to hate you wore off or something. But I had been telling myself to ignore any of the feelings that I got from myself that said to go out with you. Why did you not ask me out before now this year?"

"You had yelled at me so many times 'NO' that I didn't think I could take it one more time. So I decided to ask you one more time…at Christmas, and if you said 'no' again, I don't know what I would've done, but I don't think I ever would have dated again…do you realize that I did not go out with a single girl since Christmas of last year? And I would've dumped any girl at any time if you had ever said 'yes'…"

Lily smiled. "I never knew that you were that crazy about me," she said, absent-mindedly twirling her Alfredo around her fork. "I always thought that you just wanted me as another girl that you had gone out with at Hogwarts."

"Merlin's beard, no, Lils. I would have done anything for you at anytime…unless of course I had to help one of my fellow Marauders and I had said I would do that before you asked me to."

Finally, the plates disappeared, and the tables along with them. The chairs were magically moved against the wall as people got up from them.

Dumbledore stood. "Will the Head Boy and Head Girl please step down on to the dance floor and lead us in the first song?"

Lily and James walked slowly on to the dance floor in front of the little stage that had appeared for the…braver dancers, and a slow, soft tune came up…

**Like a tiny seed firmly in the soil**

**Nurtured with a love I think so rare**

**Given room to breathe, given time to see**

**It's now so clear to me**

**You were there, you were there**

**When I was just a flower afraid out in the forest**

**Hiding from the shadows all alone**

**I knew you'd be along, my faith in you was strong**

**Like our favorite song**

**To lead me home, you led me home**

**And with each changing season**

**I grow a little stronger**

**Rising up to touch the open sky**

**And if I gave you a reason**

**not to hold me any longer**

**You gave me a thousand reasons why**

**You are my steady oak standing tall and strong**

**Protecting me with everything you have**

**And I know deep inside**

**I would not have survived**

**Without you by my side**

**Oh and I ... I love you dad**

The song ended and the couple reluctantly broke apart. People began to move around restlessly and timidly came to dance, and the next song come up. It started slow and slowly picked up speed until it was at a good clip, but not too fast…

**I learned a lot today**

**You've been teachin'**

**Things that I don't wanna' know**

**I had so much to say**

**I thought I knew the answers**

**But that seems so long ago**

**And I wish there was another way**

**That didn't hurt so much**

**I'm learning that I can say goodbye**

**I'm learning that I can be strong inside**

**I'm ready, I'm ready to get it right**

**I'm learning about.. Life**

**I've learned a lot so far**

**It's got me thinking**

**What will happen down the road?**

**Sure I'll make mistakes**

**But I'll keep dreaming**

**They might come true you never know**

**And I wish there was another way**

**That didn't make me cry**

**I'm learning that I can say goodbye**

**I'm learning that I can be strong inside**

**I'm ready, I'm ready to get it right**

**I'm learning about.. Life**

**I gotta long, long way to go**

**Where I'm goin' I don't know but**

**I'll be alright**

**Just you wait and see...**

**I learned a lot today**

**You've been teachin'**

**Things that I don't wanna know**

**I'm learning that I can say goodbye**

**I'm learning that I can be strong inside**

**I'm ready, I'm ready to get it right**

**I'm learning about.. Life**

**I'm ready, I'm ready to get it right**

**I'm learning about.. Life**

Most people were one the dance floor now, just a few people were left off (the dateless people, mainly). Then the third song of the evening came on…

**When I look around me**

**Everything's so blurry**

**In a world that's bigger than me**

**When there's no one to talk to**

**I can lay mine on you**

**You will always comfort me**

"Alice? Will you dance with me?" a shy boy asked.

"Sure…your name is?"

"Frank. Frank Longbottom."

**For every step that's held me back**

**For every second chance I've had**

**You always seem to, to find a way**

**To tell me...**

**That you love me**

**That you need me**

**That you'll find me whenever I get lost inside my head**

**That you'll save me**

**Completely**

**From a world that's bigger than me**

**In the blink of an eye**

**You make everything right**

**No more dark cloud following**

**When I've got empty pockets**

**And when I'm stuck in traffic**

**I can tell it's you just by the ring**

**For every corner cut too fast**

**For every time that I came last**

**You always seem to, to find a way**

**To tell me...**

**That you love me**

**That you need me**

**That you'll find me whenever I get lost inside my head**

**That you'll save me**

**Completely**

**From a world that's bigger than me**

**When I look around me**

**Everything's so blurry**

**In a world that's bigger than me**

**But you love me**

**But you need me**

**But you'll find me whenever I get lost inside my head**

**But you'll save me**

**Completely**

**From a world that's bigger than me**

**But you need me**

**But you'll find me whenever I get lost inside my head**

**But you'll save me**

**Completely**

**From a world that's bigger than me**

**From a world that's bigger than me...**

Alice and Frank broke apart waiting for the next song, and Alice looked over at Lily, who smiled, here eyes alight with happiness. The next song was fast…

**Everything is open**

**Nothing's set in stone**

**Rivers turn to oceans**

**Oceans tide you home**

**Home is where the heart is**

**But your heart had to roam**

**Drifting over bridges**

**Never to return**

**Watching bridges burn**

And Lily's other best friend was asked to dance. By none other than Sirius Black. And she accepted.

**You're driftwood floating underwater**

**Breaking into pieces, pieces, pieces**

**Just driftwood, hollow and of no use**

**Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you**

**Nobody's an island**

**Everyone had to go**

**Pillars turn to butter**

**Butterflying low**

**Low is where your heart is**

**But your heart has to grow**

**Drifting under bridges**

**Never with the flow**

**And you really didn't think it would happen**

**But it really is the end of the line**

**So I'm sorry that you've turned to driftwood**

**But you've been drifting for a long, long time**

**Everywhere there's trouble**

**Nowhere's safe to go**

**Pushes turn to shovels**

**Shoveling the snow**

**Frozen you have chosen**

**The path you wish to go**

**Drifting now forever**

**And forever more**

**Until you reach your shore**

**You're driftwood floating underwater**

**Breaking into pieces, pieces, pieces**

**Just driftwood, hollow and of no use**

**Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you**

**And you really didn't think it would happen**

**But it really is the end of the line**

**So I'm sorry that you've turned to driftwood**

**But you've been drifting for a long, long time**

**You've been drifting, for a long, long time**

Drifting for a long, long time 

Though red in the face from this overly fast dance, the three couples surprisingly kept dancing…

**Once in every life**

**love should leave you without a choice**

**Where the only thing right**

**is to follow that still small voice**

**Once in every day**

**it should take your breath away**

**Once upon a time**

**should happen once in every life**

**Once you give it your heart**

**without holding back your soul**

**You can dance in the dark**

**cause you're never there alone**

**Once in every hour**

**you should feel that healing power**

**Once upon a time**

**should happen once in every life**

**Once it's stronger than you**

**There's nothin' else you can do**

**You stop asking why, just let yourself fly**

**Once in every life**

**love should feel so good you cry**

**And your only release**

**is releasing three small words**

**Once you hear them out loud**

**you feel heaven coming down**

**Once upon a time**

**should happen once in every life**

**Once upon a time**

**should happen once in every life**

Lily and James went to go and get a butterbeer, but the dances played relentlessly on…

**I love the sound of the rain**

**Fallin' down on the roof**

**In the month of May**

**I love to feel the sun**

**After the rain**

**On my face**

**But most of all**

**Yeah most of all**

**I love**

**You**

**You**

**I love the tree's of gold**

**Against the blue**

**October sky**

**I love to feel the sea**

**Runnin' over my feet**

**As the waves pass by**

**But most of all**

**Yeah most of all**

**I love**

**You**

**You**

Lily and James sat down with their butterbeers, watching their friends on the dance floor, and listening to the next song…(A/N: one of my personal favorites)

**When the waves roll on**

**over the waters**

**And the oceans cry**

**We look to our sons and daughters**

**To explain our lives**

**As if a child could tell us why**

**That as sure as the sunrise**

**As sure as the sea**

**As sure as the wind in the trees**

**We rise again**

**in the faces of our children**

**We rise again**

**in the voices of our song**

**We rise again**

**in the waves out on the ocean**

**And then we rise again**

**When the light goes dark**

**with the forces of creation**

**In a stormy sky**

**We look to reincarnation to**

**Explain our lives**

**As if a child could tell us why**

**As sure as the sunrise**

**As sure as the sea**

**As sure as the wind in the trees**

**We rise again**

**in the faces of our children**

**We rise again**

**in the voices of our song**

**We rise again**

**in the waves out on the ocean**

**And then we rise again**

**We rise again**

**in the faces of our children**

**We rise again**

**in the voices of our song**

**We rise again**

**in the waves out on the ocean**

And then we rise again 

James looked over at Lily, who had tears in her eyes.

"What?"

"Did you even listen to that song? It is so true…our children reflect who we are…and they look like us…after we die, they carry us on…"

"Oh, Lils," James said, kissing the top of her head, "don't worry about stuff like that right now…let's go and have fun out there…" he grinned cockily. "May I have this dance, my dear?"

"Why certainly, Mr. Potter," Lily retorted as the next song struck up (slow…again)…

**Wish I could whistle down the Northern Lights**

**And send them dancing all across the night**

**Maybe then when all the sky was blazing**

**Maybe then I'd feel you somewhere**

**gazing at a star,**

**And you could feel me too**

**as I say goodbye to you**

**It breaks my heart in two, to say goodbye to you**

**Wish time could turn us back to yesterday**

**The gods above would look the other way**

**Maybe then we still could laugh together**

**Maybe then it could be spring forever and a day**

**But I must face the truth and say goodbye to you**

**It breaks my heart in two, to say goodbye to you**

**Wish I could whistle down the Northern Lights**

**And send them dancing all across the night**

**Maybe then in my memories for saving**

**One last time you're on the hill waving from afar**

**One last glance or two and I'll say goodbye to you**

**It breaks my heart in two, to say goodbye to you**

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen," said Dumbledore, "Give it up for the last fast song of the night! There will be one more slow song after this, and then you will have three hours to get back to your common rooms."

**There's a piper in the corner.**

**There's a dancer on the floor**

**Friends around the table,**

**there's one who calls for more**

**And there's Gaelic in the fiddle**

**like the Gaelic in the Glen**

**And the songs take on new meaning boys**

**It's getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**For the second time since we got up**

**It's getting dark again**

**There was tea and tunes this morning**

**or was it yesterday**

**When friends and fiddles gathered**

**where friends and fiddles played**

**There were lots of those were good times**

**and do you remember when**

**But that was jigs and reels ago**

**Now it's getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**For the second time since we got up**

**It's getting dark again**

**Now if any of you were slighted by the deeds that now are done**

**By the fellowship of music and the fantasy of fun**

**Well we'd like to say we're sorry**

**shed a tear for you but then**

**We haven't got the time right now 'cause**

**It's getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**For the second time since we got up**

**It's getting dark again**

**There's a piper in the corner.**

**There's a dancer on the floor**

**Friends around the table,**

**there's one who calls for more**

**And there's Gaelic in the fiddle**

**like the Gaelic in the Glen**

**And the songs take on new meaning boys**

**She's getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**Getting dark again**

**For the second time since we got up**

**It's getting dark again**

**And the songs take on new meaning**

She's getting dark again 

And then, unbidden, the last song of the night…

**It's Friday afternoon**

**The rain is pouring down**

**I walk through the puddles**

**Each one a different sound**

**I pass your house**

**The feeling comes over me**

**It's just an emotion only the heart can say**

**Cause I miss you**

**Cause I miss you**

**I won't make a big scene I'll just walk on by**

**I can't help it all I can do is cry**

**I hang up my coat and I shut my door and sigh**

**It's just an emotion only my heart knows why**

**I miss you**

**Said I miss you**

**Said that I miss you**

Said that I miss you 

Everyone started to dispatch to his or her common rooms…or respective broom cupboards, but James led Lily outside. It was a cool night, but the breeze felt good on their flushed faces. Snow was threatening to fall. James lifted up Lily's chin and looked into her eyes…and kissed her.

A/N: Ok, I'm really sorry if anybody dislikes lyrics in stories, but it was the best way to create a mood. If you didn't read the lyrics, then you missed out on some good songs, some meaningful words. All 10 of the above songs are by Aselin Debison, a 14 or 15 year old, and she has an amazing voice. If you Google her name and click the first link, you can listen to parts of some of the above songs. All songs listed (in order) are:

Love is so Rare, from her first album Sweet is the Melody

Life, from her second album Bigger Than Me

Bigger Than Me, from her second album Bigger Than Me

Driftwood, from her first album Sweet is the Melody

Once in Every Life, from her first album Sweet is the Melody

Most of All, from her second album Bigger Than Me

Rise Again, from her first album Sweet is the Melody

To say goodbye to you, from her first album Sweet is the Melody

Getting Dark Again, from her first album Sweet is the Melody

Miss you, from her second album Bigger Than Me

You should really try and listen to these…they're really good…and those weren't the only songs played…you can add your favorites in your mind, but these, as I said, are my favorites, so…yeah.

As always, thank you to my reviewers, and please, please, please review…I've gone from six reviews per chapter to two…please, people…just a simple "nice job update soon" would make me feel better…you can even just copy and paste it…please?


	13. Always and Forever

**AN: I finally updated! Yay me! So here's chapter 13, Always and Forever…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

The day after the ball, everyone went home…except for the people who were staying, of course. (A/N: James and Lily never actually went back to their common room, so there was no way they could get locked in there!) Along with James and Lily, Sirius and Remus were also staying. After Sirius had finished his very elongated farewell to Jaina, the foursome walked through the snow to the beach tree. Lily melted a small patch of snow and dried the ground under it to give them a dry place to sit down.

"James, Lils, that ball was awesome last night!" said Sirius.

"Thanks! Wait…Remus, I didn't see you there! Did you go?" Lily asked.

"Well, actually, no."

"Why not?" Sirius demanded. "It was the bloody best ball I've ever been to!"

"Because no one asked me."

"So? I wasn't going with anyone!"

"Really? Girls were asking you left and right!"

"Yeah, well I had my eyes set on someone at the dance who didn't have a date and I knew she wouldn't say yes if I asked her to go to the whole ball with me, so there you go."

"Whatever, Padfoot."

"But I know who likes you, Remus," Lily interjected slyly.

"What! And you didn't tell me?"

"I thought you would have figured it out by the ball," Lily admitted. "I mean, she's been sending you notes for the past three months!"

"Well yeah, but…"

Lily smiled. "Let me see the notes…and I'll make sure I'm right."

Remus pulled out a rather large roll of papers and handed them to Lily.

"Dang, Moony!" Sirius said. "How many are there?"

"Lily said three months, Padfoot…that means, if you do the math right, I have 90 letters!"

"But Lily and I had a great time, didn't we, Flower?"

"Don't call me 'Flower', Potter! I don't see that there's anything between us! For all I know you played me…you used me!"

"I would never do that to you, Lily," James whispered.

"And how do I know that?" Lily spat. "You've played every other girl you've gone out with! You've cheated on them! You even cheated on the ones you were cheating with!"

"Lily, that gossip just wasn't true," James started.

"Oh, don't you even try to tell me that you've seen the error of your ways! I bet that you had told someone else that you would meet them and then ditched them!" Lily got up and stalked off.

_Stupid me,_ she thought, _stupid, stupid me. How could I think for even a second that he likes me? Oh, Lily, your eyes are so beautiful, well the little stuck up bastard can see what it's like without me even talking to him!_ _I tried being nice, but screw it! If I can't trust him, he doesn't deserve anything from me! Why did I have to get him that stupid book for Christmas? I guess I don't have to give it to him. I have a week to decide. Maybe I'll end up giving it to him anonymously, I mean, whose to say that a secret admirer wouldn't send him a very thoughtful and…and…and…good…gift? Oh, who am I kidding? He KNOWS that I would give him that gift! _

Meanwhile, James was facing a similar predicament. _Crap, I spilled my heart out to her last night, and now I'll never have a chance! I'll still giver her her Christmas present, though…I mean, who else would I give that to? I'll do what ever it takes to get her to fall for me…to be mine forever!_

_I'll do whatever it takes to play hard to get…_ thought Lily

Over the next few days, Lily did not speak or even look at James. She looked around Hogwarts to find someone to get back at James with, but to no avail. She knew that she was torturing him. She could see it in his eyes every time she snuck a sideways glance at him in their common room the next day. He did not smile, simply stared into the fire, hurt and betrayal radiating from his hazel eyes.

The day before Christmas (Friday), Lily holed herself in her bedroom, wrapping her presents. When she came to James' present, she sighed and sat down on her bed. In truth, she wanted to give him the present she had looked so carefully for, to see his face light up with happiness. Slowly, she wrapped it and wrote the card. She would, at least, try to convey that she was his friend…only his friend…through this. _To James, from your friend Lily_, she wrote.

James stood in the common room, decorating a tree. He had talked Hagrid into cutting a small one for him. Lily came out of her room laden with wrapped gifts, but promptly dropped them when she saw James just standing there, a golden ornament in his hand. She began to gather them all up, but stopped when she saw a hand handing her one of the fallen gifts. Lily looked up into his hazel eyes.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking the package and walking over to the tree.

"Your welcome, Lils. Are any of those for me?"

"Well, Potter, you'll just have to wait and find out, won't you." She picked up a package and tapped it with her wand. "There. Now you can't get at it. If you try, I'll know, Potter!"

Lily then headed to the owlery to send the rest of her packages off.

James went into his room to wrap his packages, thinking. _That's the first time she's talked to me in a week! What is that about? I'm not complaining…I'll just wrap these and send them all off…except for Lily's of course._

It had taken Lily hours to do her wrapping, but it only took James 30 minutes. He did most of it by magic, but when it came to Lily's, he looked around for some paper he had been saving. It was gold with white trees. He wrapped the tiny box and tapped each side with his wand so that they sealed seamlessly. He levitated his gifts out into the common room and placed Lily's gift down. There were only two gifts under the tree now, but he knew more would arrive. He then followed Lily up to the owlery.

When he reached it, he found her gazing out of the window at the swirling snow. He wanted so badly to walk over and slip his arms around her waist and hold her…but he knew that if he did, he would regret it. Maybe tomorrow after she opened his gift it would be different. He watched her as she shivered, not having a cloak to go over her crimson turtle neck shirt. Without thinking, James pulled off his own and put it over her shoulders.

Lily turned, startled. "Potter? You scared me! Where did you come from?"

"Why, Lily, I came up here to send off my presents. I finished and saw you shiver, and that brings us to where we are right now."

"Oh, fine. I'm cold, so I'm going back to the common room. Coming."

"Hell yes!"

"Language, Potter," Lily chided.

"Err…right. Sorry. I'm coming!"

Lily awoke the next morning and rushed into the common room. James was not up yet, but there was a rather large pile of presents under the tree. She ran across to James' bedroom. Forgetting that she was upset and not bothering to knock, she threw the door open and started jumping on his bed.

"Merry Christmas, Potter! Wake up! Time for presents!"

Being bounced up and down had its effects on James. He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes. "Bloody hell, Evans! What's this all about? What are you doing in my room?"

Lily jumped one last time and landed on the bed with her legs crossed. "It's Christmas, Potter! Have some spirit! Come and open your presents!"

James got out of bed and threw his bathrobe on, following Lily into the common room. She was already sitting on the floor in front of the tree, ripping open a package.

"Who is that one from?" James asked.

"My parents. I bet I know what it is!" Lily finished unwrapping the present and looked triumphant. "I knew it! I knew it!"

"What is it?"

"It's…" her face fell.

"What?"

"The twins made me scarves. And mum put a bottle of lotion in each of them."

"Oh, well…that was thoughtful of the twins…my turn!" James started ripping the paper off a large package from his mum and dad. "Yes! A new broom! And a broomstick care kit!"

"Cool," Lily said as she started opening James' package. He abruptly stopped her.

"Don't open that until last, please!"

"Why?"

"Just…don't."

"Fine." She turned to a package from Jaina, and opened it. Inside was a makeup kit. Lily laughed. "She always says that I should use it…"

"Use what?" asked James, ripping open another present.

"Makeup."

"Oh. You know, Lils, you don't need it."

"Whatever. Who are those from?"

"What, this?" asked James, picking up the two kittens.

"They're so cute!"

"They didn't come with a label. You can have one if you want."

"Really? Are you sure?"

James nodded.

Lily went and picked up the little calico kitten. "She's so beautiful!"

"How did you know that it was a girl? You picked it up like two seconds ago!"

"James, calico cats only look like this if they're female."

"Oh."

Lily turned to a small gift from Sirius, and started ripping it open. After she got the first layer of paper off, the package began to grow. When it stopped, Lily began tearing at the paper. There seemed to be endless amounts of if. James knelt on the floor next to her and began to help. Finally, surrounded by paper, the large box flew open and snow started to fall inside. Lily lifted two baskets, four bowls, food, litter, and a litter box out of it. Lily laughed. "I guess we know who sent you the kittens!"

Some half an hour later, James was on his last present…Lily's present. Carefully, he began to unwrap the gift and found a thick, hardbound book. Engraved on the front in gold letters was the word _Hoyle_. He looked up at Lily. "What is it?"

"It's a book of muggle card games to give us something to do around here on weekends."

"Thanks, Lils! You're always playing solitude or something like that…is that in here?"

"_Solitaire_, James, and yes, that's in there. So is rummy, canasta, bridge, poker, hearts, euchre, spades, go fish, old maid, and variations on even more than that! And I have cards to play with."

"Cool! But now, before we play, you have to open your last present."

"Okay…I guess." Lily picked up the little box and noticed it had been resealed. Hands trembling, she undid each side and the bottom. After the wrapping paper had been removed, she saw an emerald velveteen box. She looked up at James, tears in her eyes.

"Open it," he urged her.

Slowly, Lily opened the box. She gasped. Inside, on a delicate gold chain, was a small heart pendant. It was studded with tiny diamonds. "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" Lily squealed "James, why? Why? I've been so horrible to you!"

James shrugged. "I wanted to."

"But this must have cost a fortune, James!"

"Nah. Now look at it more closely."

Lily peered at it. Engraved in miniscule writing were the words _Always and Forever_. Lily looked up at James, eyes brimming with tears

"You don't have to wear it," James said hastily.

Lily took the necklace out of the box and handed it to James, then turned her back on him and moved her gleaming hair off the back of her neck. Dumfounded, James stood there a moment, then, comprehension dawning on his face, unclasped it and put it around her neck. She turned around after it was fastened again and dashed into the bathroom. "James," she whispered, "It's beautiful!" She gave James a hug.

"Your welcome," James said, smiling to himself. _This is better than anything I could've gotten, but that book of muggle games was cool, too…_

_Maybe we do have something after all,_ thought Lily. _I really should be nicer to him…he's made an effort to be nice to me, and if he gave me this, he probably didn't play me after all._

**Yay! You read it! Now Review it! Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter! It really meant a lot, and here's the automated review for today (but you have choices!):**

I liked this chappie! Update soon!

I hated this chapter. I don't think you should update again.

Why do you even bother with this story? It's to fluffy in places and there's not enough fluff in others. I mean, come on! Lily shouldn't be this emotional, either. She's a stable person.

Aww! James was SO sweet to give her that! Update soon!

It was really cute, but you need to (you fill in after that…)

So what's gonna happen next? Is Lily going to just melt into James because of a stupid necklace? Do you even know how to write romance?

Nice try, but it was way too cheesy…

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	14. Snowbound

A/N: so sorry for not updating sooner! I had writer's block. And I know that it's short, but if you have any ideas, review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this chapter. So there.

After Lily had calmed down from the necklace, she summoned playing cards from her room. James, on the other hand, had something else in mind.

"Hey, Lils?"

"Yeah?"

"You should go put on some warm clothes."

"Why?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"Another one?"

"Just go put on your jacket, hat, and gloves."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Fifteen minutes later, she was back down in the common room with her warm clothes on.

"Jeez, Lily! What took you so long!"

"Well, I had to find a warm outfit that went with my jacket, hat, and gloves, you know."

"Whatever. Now close your eyes and follow me."

"James."

"Yes?"

"If my eyes are closed, how can I see where you're going?"

"Right. I guess I just have to lead you."

"Fine. Just don't levitate me."

"You got it!"

Lily closed her eyes and felt James' fingers entwine with hers. Ten steps later, she felt him stop.

"Do you want to stumble, be levitated, or do you want me to carry you? Never mind. I'll just carry you."

"WHAT! James! No!" Lily giggled.

But James scooped her up in his arms and began to climb the stairs. A minute or so later, James set her down. "Keep your eyes closed, Lily," he whispered.

"Why? James – what – "

"Open them," James spoke into her ear.

Lily opened her eyes and felt cold on her eyes before she registered what she was seeing. Snow was falling thick and fast, and the stone railing on the balcony was covered in about four inches of snow. James' broom was also on the balcony, hovering at waist height.

"Wha-"

"Get on."

"James, no! James, I'm afraid of heights!"

"Lily, I promise you that nothing will happen to you! You'll be amazed once we're in the air."

"Promise?"

"Why would I let anything happen to you? Besides, you're in for a real treat."

Reluctantly, Lily mounted the broomstick, and James got on directly behind her. He kicked off from the ground and rose slowly. Lily's eyes were squeezed shut again. He gently guided the broom over the balcony railing and out into the winter wonderland.

"Lil, open your eyes!"

Lily opened one eye cautiously, but was soon looking around in wonder.

"Wanna see something really amazing?"

"Sure," she whispered. James guided the broom around until they were facing Hogwarts. Snow covered the towers and turrets like icing on a cake, and little pinpricks of light came from the windows. "Where's the Head's dorm?"

James zoomed in (literally) until they were ten feet from the balcony.

"This is so amazing," Lily said finally. "Will you teach me to fly?"

"Will you go out with me and believe me when I say I love you?"

**Ooh! What's Lillikins gonna say? BTW: I'm really sorry it's so short! But it seemed like the perfect place to end the chapter. Sigh. I know it's a cliffie, but I'll try to update soon. In the mean time, review! And yes, there are automated reviews still. Just copy and paste the one(s) you want! Here they are:**

Again with the cheesy, fluffy, gross and sickening sweetness! Jeez, you really need to learn how to write!

Ok, but what's Lilikins gonna say?

WHY did you leave us with a cliffhanger? Us, your readers! WHY!

You didn't make Lily fall of the broom. You suck.

Good job.

Whatever! Lily isn't THAT weak-minded! She wouldn't just fall for James like that!

Update soon!

Update soon, but without the cliffhanger!

You should seriously delete this story. It went completely down the drain.

Good job, but why the cliffie! The suspense is killing me! What will Lily say? You had SO better update soon!

If you don't update and give us an answer, I'll send a giant piece of pizza to eat you!

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	15. FTY NFTY USA

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Really.**

**A/N: Yay! I updated, and you get the answer, along with some rather pointless, but all the same fluffy banter stuff. Enjoy!**

xXx Recap xXx

"This is so amazing," Lily said finally. "Will you teach me to fly?"

"Will you go out with me and believe me when I say I love you?"

xXx

James landed on their balcony and looked Lily in the eye. "Well?"

"What do you think I'm going to say, James," Lily said.

James bowed his head.

"You prat, James! Of COURSE I will go out with you!"

James looked up with his trademark cocky grin plastered on his face. "You mean it?"

"Duh! Do you think I would trust you with my life and not my heart?"

"Um, well, I, uh, wasn't…sure."

Lily smiled up at him, his hazel eyes boring into her emerald ones. Without even thinking, they both moved towards each other. Their lips clashed together in a haze of sparks…

Seconds later (or was it days?) they broke apart. Lily grinned sheepishly at James, who blushed.

"Did I, Lily Marie Evans make you, the infamous James Potter blush?"

"I believe that I, James Potter, just kissed you, Lily Potter."

Lily's eyes widened. "What?" she whispered.

"I just said, and I quote: "I believe that I, James Potter, just kissed you, Lily Potter." end quote."

"Don't push your luck, Mr. Potter."

"Oh, I don't think I'm pushing my luck, do you, Mrs. Potter?"

"You're joking, right? I just agreed to go out with you like, 30 seconds ago!"

James' eyes danced. "Why would I joke with the love of my life, Lily?"

"B-but this has to be one big joke. I-I'm not even eighteen!"

"Lily, I just wanted to see how you would react! I know that you just agreed to go out with me, and out we shall go!"

"What!"

"You didn't think I took you seriously, did you Evans? We're going out for Christmas dinner, if you will consent to be my date."

"Of course, James, but we can't leave the grounds, can we?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Evans. Just go and get ready!"

Smiling, Lily nodded. Now positively glowing, James followed his girlfriend down the stairs to get everything ready.

Lily went into her room, completely dazed. She quickly took a shower, drying her hair in soft curls. She began to dig through her closet. She had her dress from the ball, of course, but she thought she had something different, something that was, somehow, not floor length or white. Her ball dress would probably put James in the mind for a wedding. She had been shocked and really pleased when James had begun calling her Mrs. Potter. Lily Potter. Now that had a ring to it. Much better than Lily Evans. Finally, Lily pulled from her closet an emerald green dress that matched her eyes perfectly. It was very form fitting, made from silk. It was strapless, and part of it ended halfway down her shin. The rest flowed gracefully behind her, dragging on the floor. Lily slipped it on, put her diamond earrings on, and spread dark green eye shadow over her eyelids. Strapping on some clear stilettos, Lily began to walk out of the room before she remembered her emerald velvet cloak. She threw this around her shoulders and stepped out onto the landing. She walked carefully down the stairs and saw James waiting for her, open-mouthed.

"Umm…the only way we can get out of here is on brooms over the balcony…but I hate to make you walk up all those stairs."

"Oh, whatever! Most girls grow up clanking up and down stairs in their mother's dress shoes! Let's just go!"

"You do know that we're going to be going outside of the grounds tonight, right?"

"Of course, James! I'm not THAT dim! I AM valedictorian, if I remember correctly!"

"Yeah, by this miniscule little margin!"

"Whatever you say, Potter!"

"Are you ready to go on our first date, Mrs. Potter?"

"AGAIN with the Mrs. Potter?"

"What? I thought that Lily Potter had this little ring to it!"

_"So do I," _Lily thought. "Let's just go," she said.

After painstakingly climbing all of those stairs…again…Lily was more than ready to go and eat. She figured that Dumbledore probably knew that we were going anyway.

"Err, how're you going to sit on the broom, Lil?"

"Good question…umm…side saddle?"

"That works, I guess…but you have to hold on really tight, okay?"

"Let's just go!"

James mounted the broom first, holding it steady for Lily to sit down on it. Once he felt that she was safely sitting down, he rose from the ground. As soon as they were outside the grounds, James landed.

"Where in Hogsmeade are we going?" Lily asked.

"Who said we were going to Hogsmeade? I'm going to apperate…and use side-along-apparition so that you don't know where we're going."

"Oh, come on, James! Why won't you tell me?"

"Because this is our first date and it has to be special!"

James grabbed Lily's hand and twisted, concentrating every particle of his mind on the destination. If Dumbledore was wrong about this place being so good, James was going to have to kill him…

Lily opened her eyes to see a dark alleyway. "James!" she hissed. "James, I don't think it worked! We're in this dark alley and the air is all dry!"

"Don't freak, Lils! It worked! We are in a different country, that's all!"

"But for _what_, James?"

"The best darn pizza on the whole planet!"

"But where are we?"

"Guess!"

"Italy?"

"Nope!"

"Canada?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Argentina?"

"Guess again!"

"Brazil? Oh, wait…it would be humid there, huh?"

"Give up?"

"What do I have to do if I give up?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Get so drunk that…"

"No, I don't give up! Let's see…are we in the Western Hemisphere?"

"Yes."

"Mexico."

"No, but close!"

"America?"

"Where in America?"

"Jeez, just how specific do you want me to be?"

"You got the country…now if you don't get the state, you still have to get drunk!"

"Fine. Alabama?"

"No."

"Alaska."

"No."

"Arizona."

"No."

"Arkansas."

"No."

"California."

"No."

"Colorado."

"No."

"Connecticut."

"No."

"Delaware?"

"No."

"Florida?"

"No."

"Georgia."

"No."

"Hawaii?"

"We are NOT on an island."

"Idaho?"

"No."

"Illinois?"

"No."

"Indiana."

"How much longer are we going to be out here? I'm cold! Are you going to go through ALL of the states in alphabetical order?"

"Yup. Iowa?"

"No."

"Kansas?"

"No."

"Kentucky?"

"No."

"Louisiana."

"No."

"Maine?"

"No."

"Maryland?"

"No."

"Massachusetts?"

"No."

"Michigan."

"Are there any huge lakes around here?"

"Good point. Minnesota?"

"No."

"Mississippi?"

"No."

"Missouri?"

"No."

"Montana?"

"No!"

"Nebraska?"

"Lily! There is a huge mountain directly across from us!"

"Nevada?"

"No."

"New Hampshire?"

"No."

"New Jersey?"

"Lily. Do I look like I am wearing a jersey?"

"Bad joke, James. I'm sick of this. I'll give up and get plastered, I guess."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. All I ever get is no, no, and no!"

"Ok…so do you want me to tell you where we are?"

"Yes! I want to know were we are!"

"We are in…NEW MEXICO!"

Lily's eyes widened. "You PRAT, James! I don't want to get drunk! Besides, I was SO CLOSE!"

James laughed. "Technically, you were really rather far away…I mean, New Jersey? You were closer with Arizona or Colorado! We are in New Mexico, Lilykins, at the absolute best microbrewery there is, according to the one and only Albus Dumbledore. Now, Mrs. Potter, if you will follow me, I will escort you –"

Lily slapped James on the arm, hard.

"Ouch! Fine! I will escort you, Ms. _Evans_, into the Socorro Springs Microbrewery."

**A/N: The chapter ends here, folks! I'll try to update soon! And yes, the restaurant is real! I've been there, and it stands out in my mind as the second best pizza in the world! (My mother's is better!) And now, for the automated reviews (as always, pick the one(s) that describe what you thought of this chapter!):**

**What was up with all of the Mrs. Potter crap! Do you actually think that Lily wouldn't do something about it!**

**Thanks for the answer! It was nice to see them FINALLY together. I mean, jeez, how long did it have to take?**

**Good chapter, but update sooner.**

**Now that James and Lily aren't fighting anymore, it takes the point out of the story. Make them have another fight or delete the story.**

**Update soon!**

**Good chapter! Is Lily actually going to get plastered! I can't wait! Update soon!**

**That thing with the Fifty Nifty United States was the STUPIDEST idea ever, and it was boring.**

**- OR - **

**Let your creative juices soar and make your own review! (but please review!)**

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	16. Rasberry Iced Tea

A/N: See…I finally updated! Whether this was a good decision or not, I'll let you be the judge…so yeah…read and review!

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.

_Previously: Lily slapped James on the arm, hard._

_"Ouch! Fine! I will escort you, Ms. Evans, into the Socorro Springs Microbrewery."_

James and Lily sat at a small, secluded table.

"What're you gonna have, Lils?"

"Hmm…I think…we should get soft pretzels as an appetizer, and I'm going to have the…6 Cheese Pie…and raspberry iced tea."

"Uh-uh-uh, Lils! You promised you'd get sloshed!"

"James! The drinking age in America is 21! We're 17!"

"Oh…then when we get to…were we came from you have to get plastered."

"Fine. But what are you going to have?"

"Ooh…good question, Evans! I think that the soft pretzels sound excellent, and the raspberry iced tea as well, but I believe that I shall have the Elfego."

"Are you actually going to eat all of the jalepenos?" Lily asked, grinning.

"Sure, why not? I mean, you know…"

"Promise you'll eat every single jalepeno that comes with the pizza?"

"No, because they'll be really hot and then I'll have fire breath and you won't want me to kiss you."

"James, James, James…"

"Lily, Lily, Lily…"

"I hate to interrupt, but may I take your order?" asked a tall, skinny waitress.

Lily and James gave their orders quickly and when they were sure the waitress was gone resumed their banter.

"Potter, Potter, Potter, Potter!"

"Potter, Potter, Potter, Potter, Potter!" James teased.

"James Potter!"

"Yes, dearest Lily Potter?"

"This is getting old, James!"

"Here are your soft pretzels…"

"Thank you," Lily said, her voice a forced calm. "James," Lily whispered, "If you call me Lily Potter one more time tonight, I will leave and take your broom back to the castle and tell Dumbledore about…"

"About what, Lils? He told me about this place!"

"That you snuck out of our dorm…"

"So did you…"

"That's beside the point!"

"No it isn't! He'll ask you where I went and why I'm not back yet and then you'll have to answer for that!"

"These pretzels are really good! But I'm going to need some more raspberry iced tea soon! This stuff is really good!" Lily said innocently.

James looked down at the food. He took a sip of the tea…

Ten glasses of raspberry iced tea later, Lily and James were both giggling about random, inconsequential things. Lily was half way through her 6 Cheese Pie when she realized how late it was.

"James! It's almost 10:00! HERE! We should get back!"

"Aww, Lils, that'll ruin all the fun!"

"No! It's REALLY late at Hogwarts now! We need boxes and the bill!

After all of this was taken care of, Lily and James got up and walked carefully back into the dark alley. Lily concentrated her mind on Hogsmeade…only on Hogsmeade…and turned…

"DAMN IT, JAMES!" Lily yelled as soon as the sensation of being pushed through a tight tube was over with. "WHY didn't you warn me that it's NOT a good idea for people to apperate on an exceptionally full bladder!"

"Why didn't you go to the bathroom? I don't have a full bladder! Oh, wait…there it comes. Oh, God! WHY did we have so much raspberry ice tea! WHY!"

"Let's just get back to the castle! And I claim the bathroom FIRST!"

"Ok, Lil…it's only fair…Lil?"

"What?" Lily snapped.

"Where's my broom?"

"How should I know?

"Didn't I put it right outside the walls?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then where is it?"

"JAMES! I did not take your bloody broom!"

"I-I never said you did, Lilikins."

"You implied it. Great! Just bloody great! We're stuck out here, it's bloody cold and we're standing in the snow…my toes are bloody freezing, and even my heels are in the bloody snow! My dress is going to be ruined because it's getting wet and it's silk, and not to mention this bloody cloak is all I have to bloody keep me warm! Just summon the bloody broom, James!"

"It HAS to be here! I don't need to summon anything!"

"Accio James' broom!" Lily said, looking around impatiently.

"Lily, it won't come."

"What do you bloody mean, it won't come?"

"I put this charm so on it so that it couldn't be summoned by anyone but me or my family."

"Well, bloody summon it, then!"

"Accio broom!"

The broom came speeding up over the gate and hovered at James' side. The two mounted the broom and flew onto the balcony of the Head dorms.

As soon as the broom touched the balcony, Lily vaulted off the broom (she had taken off her shoes during the flight) and raced down the stairs to the landing on which their dorms were located. She wrenched her door open and flew into her bathroom…

**A/N: I am SO SORRY it took SO long for me to update! I understand if you hate me and never review again…but please don't punish me with that! That would be cruel…and all cruelty springs from the weakness to review…so here are my forever present automated reviews to keep us all from the harmful depths of cruelty:**

Good chapter, but you need to make the story move a little faster. It's getting boring.

Update soon!

If you're not going to update reliably, delete this story.

Yayness! I really liked the chapter! Update soon!

You should really update more often, you know.

Not at all up to your usual standard of a chapter, I'm afraid…keep trying!

Never update again. I'm warning you!

Jeez, what is with you! This story is crap!


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